If They Only Knew
by trixyflixy
Summary: 17 year old Dawn Schafer has a secret that is causing her to be withdrawn from everything. With the other members of the BSC going about their lives enjoying parties, boys & senior year, Dawn wonders if anyone cares...until it happens to someone else. R
1. Chapter 1

If They Only Knew

"C'mon Stacy, I want to see if my vase I made yesterday dried ok in the kiln", yelled Claudia Kishi from the bottom of the stairs. "I need to check it before homeroom". She smoothed down her olive green calf length skirt and brushed off her brown leather sandals. She took a quick glance in the mirror and was pleased with what she saw. Staring back at her was a 17 year old girl who could easily pass for 21. Even though she may not have been the healthiest eater growing up, she had creamy, flawless skin, good cheekbones, warm almond shaped eyes and silky black hair that was divided into 2 braids.

Just then her best friend Stacy McGill came racing down the stairs eating an apple.

"I'm sorry Claud," she said. "You know I have that interview after school today, I wanted to make sure I looked good. So what do you think?"

Claudia critically looked over her best friend of 5 years. Stacey was wearing tight fitting black skirt, a bright blue collared shirt, and black boots. Her long blond hair was in a French knot and her make-up was done beautifully, if not a little heavy.

"You look good Stace, tell me about this job again?" asked Claudia.

On the way to Stoneybrook High School Stacey told Claudia about the job as a waitress at a new wings & ribs place that Mr. Addison had opened. "Apparently, he is looking for hot girls to be waitresses", said Stacey. "And we get to wear the cutest outfits, little shorts and either white t-shirts or tank tops!"

"He actually said for you to come apply because he was looking for hot girls?", exclaimed Claudia in disbelief.

"No, not like that. He just mentioned he was looking for new waitstaff and thought I should apply", Stacey explained. "He wasn't imply-"

"Hey there's Dawn!", interrupted Claudia waving. "Dawn, do you want a ride?"

Dawn looked up, startled that anyone was calling her. She saw a car pull over and two familiar faces waving excitedly. She gave a half-hearted wave, shook her head so that her long blonde hair covered her face once again and continued walking. Dawn could hear Stacey asking Claudia if she thought Shafer would ever be "normal" again.

_Ha, Normal? I don't know what the hell that is anymore,_ She thought to herself._ Why did this have to happen? I was a fun-filled freshman enjoying my friends, finally getting really interested in boys. Then my world suddenly changed in a moment._

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"Mary Anne, for the last time, just because Logan said he was too tired to come over last night does not mean he wants to break up with you", explained Kristy Thomas impatiently. "He's working weird hours, we have mid-terms coming up and he's covering the basketball season for the paper." She looked at her best friend in her short corduroy brown skirt and cream colored cami who was trying not to cry. Just then Stacey and Claudia came up behind her.

"Que pasa chicas? What's everyone doing this weekend?" asked Claudia.

"Well Ms. Mopey, here is convinced Logan hates her because he wouldn't come over last night." said Kristy, "Personally I think she needs a fun night out!"

"What'd you have in mind?" asked Stacy with a gleam in her eye.

"Weeeeell, it turns out Mom & Watson are out of town this weekend, Abby & Anna are having a party…"began Kristy. "So, I say Saturday night everyone come over, we'll get ready, go to the party and everyone can crash at my place!"

"I am babysitting for Melody Kohrman so I'll be in the neighborhood anyways." Said Claudia. "Count me in!"

"Me too!" said Stacy. "As long as Kristy agrees to let me do her make-up"

Kristy made a face in disgust.

"Maybe a fun party is what I need", said Mary Anne with a devious smile. "Hey can I invite Dawn?" The other three exchanged a quick glance.

"Um, Mary Anne, Dawn hasn't wanted anything to do with any of us since freshman year. She dropped out of the club suddenly and pretty much withdrew into a shell." stated Kristy matter of factly.

Mary Anne sighed. "She still won't talk about whatever happened. Sharon has tried to make her go to counseling but she refuses. She just sits in her room all day crying"

Just then the first bell rang and the four girls dashed off in separate directions each lost in their own thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Claudia, Kristy and Abby all sat together during study hall. Luckily, their moderator didn't care what the students did as long as the noise volume wasn't too loud. Mr. Lucker figured with 4 different grades in one classroom he wouldn't be able to keep the talking down anyways. The three of them sat there talking about the party and who would be there. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I don't know if you guys have ever met my cousin." began Abby. "He lives in New Jersey, he's our age and he's coming down for the party and bringing his friend. His friend is big into baseball from what I hear."

"Ooooh, Kristy! A jock!" teased Claudia. "So tell us more about this mysterious cousin and his baseball playing friend".

"Well, his name is To-" started Abby. Just then she was interrupted.

"OhmyGod Claudia! I love your skirt!" squealed Mallory Pike. "I need to get one just like it!"

Claudia groaned inwardly, as the over-eager redheaded sophomore came bounding over. "What is that outfit all about?" whispered Kristy. Mallory was wearing a plaid skirt with a tye-dye shirt and flip-flops. Mallory Pike and Jessi Ramsey used to be junior members of the Baby-sitters Club. Back in the day they met 3 times a week and had official meetings. Ever since the older members started high school, it was too difficult to make every meeting. These days Mallory answered the phone at meeting times and doled out jobs to available members. Kristy was happy the club was still running. However she wished Mallory had matured somewhat in the 4 years since she joined the club.

"So what are you guys doing this weekend? Any big senior parties or anything?" gushed Mallory exitedly. "Guess what Ben Hobart and I went to the Rosebud Café by OURSELVES last night. ON A SCHOOL NIGHT!"

Kristy glanced around quickly praying no one was watching. _It seems as if ever since Jessi went off to Julliard Mallory just can't get out of her 6__th__ grade status_, She mused.

Just then Price Irving tossed a note in Abby's direction. "Oooh!" Squealed Mallory. "Price is soooooooo dreamy! If Ben wasn't my beau, I'd fight you for him Abby" Claudia snorted and muttered "who the hell says beau?"

Abby unfolded the note: **Stevenson, What time does the bash start? I'm bringing Tequila, you going to go shot for shot with us? ---Price**

"You're having a party? Can I come?" screamed Mallory.

Claudia let out a groan and prayed study hall would be over soon.

As her Calculus teacher droned on & on about the infinite series, Stacey examined her plum colored nail polish. Just then she heard a whisper, "Psst, Stacy, STACY!" Just then a neatly folded note landed on her desk. She read it quickly: **Stacey, Are you going to the Stevenson's party Saturday? I'd love to pick you up and take you there. Let me know. ---Austin. P.S. Alan wants to know if Claudia is going too.**

Stacey wrinkled her nose at the thought of her friend's on-again off-again boyfriend Alan Gray. Granted he had grown up considerably, however he still was known for playing some of the most childish pranks. Austin on the other hand seemed to really have matured senior year. She noticed how all the junior girls fought to sit by him in the cafeteria. She remembered their junior prom when she thought he was going to tell her he loved her but proceeded to tell her how he wanted to be her first. She smirked as she thought if only he knew that I lost my virginity Sophmore year. She uncapped her purple felt pen and scribbled back**: I will be there but I'm going with the girls. See you there. Stacey.** She passed the note behind her hoping it would reach Austin.

Mary Anne was trying to avoid not only the way Logan was trying to get her attention, but also the way Cokie Mason was watching the whole scene unfold.

"Mary Anne, I'm sorry I didn't come over", pleaded Logan. "I was so tired after work I could barely drive home."

"We can talk about this later," she hissed back. "Hey Cokie, take a picture it'll last longer!"

Cokie looked shocked. _Who was Mousy-Anne Spier to talk to me like that? I could wrap not only her little Logan but every boy here at Stoneybrook High around my finger._

Mary Anne was more concerned the way her stepsister was looking. Dawn had always been a striking looking girl. The kind of girl you noticed from across a crowded room. She was the first of the club to really develop. At 5'4, she had long legs, a flat tummy, basically an unbelievable figure all around. Not that anyone would notice in the baggy wardrobe she seemed to have adopted. Her once lustrous blonde hair was dull and just hung in her face. Her gorgeous blue eyes didn't sparkle anymore, almost as if the light had been extinguished. She wished her stepsister would confide in her.

Dawn tried to sink lower into her chair during her English class. She hoped if Mrs. Ralston couldn't see her then she wouldn't call on her. She could feel Mary Anne's eyes on her as she let her hair cover her face. _I just wish they would leave me alone. What good would a counselor be? They weren't there, they don't know what happened. She could picture it perfectly as if it had just happened. She closed her eyes as the nightmare began to play in her mind once again…_


	3. Chapter 3

"Stacey?" inquired Troy Addison, "Why don't you come back to my office so we can go over the position".

Stacey stood up smoothing her skirt in the process and followed Mr. Addison through the restaurant. She couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach at the thought of working at such a fun restaurant.

"Now, let me explain about the restaurant and then you can ask me any questions you may have. Deal?" asked Mr. Addison. "But answer this first, are you 18?"

Stacey nodded and tried to give her most winning smile. "I just turned 18 a few months ago"

"Ok, that's good news, we are a restaurant/bar and I can't have you serving alcohol unless you're 18", said Mr. Addison with a smile. "Plus, we are only open until 11:00 pm during the week and 1:00 am Thursday-Saturday. So that shouldn't interfere too much with getting some sleep on school nights."

He continued, "The customer demographic is primarily males. They like to see the pretty girls smiling at them as they bring the food. The friendlier you are to them, the bigger your tips. I need you to show up on time in your uniform, hair loose, make-up on. You are to never talk about having a boyfriend with the customers. In other words, you always look completely put-together and available. You've become a beautiful woman Stacey, I know you will be one of our most successful waitresses here"

Stacey blushed under Mr. Addison's appraising stare. "Thank you, I uh. I Uh think it sounds like a fun job". She stammered.

"Well Stace, I'm going to give you some forms to fill out. Have your mom help you with them. Also here is our menu. I'd like you to try to memorize as much of it as possible. That way when customers ask about menu items, you'll have the descriptions down pat already." Said Mr. Addison.

"Thanks! I've always been good at memorizing." She replied confidently. "Um, Mr. Addison, does this mean I…"

"Jill! Jill! Can you come here please?" called Mr. Addison.

Just then a striking brunette came walking in. "Yes Mr. Addison?" she said giving Stacey a smile.

_Holy shit!_ _I am going to look like an underdeveloped 12 year old in my uniform next to her!_ thought Stacey.

"Jill, this is Stacey McGill. You will be training her starting Sunday." Explained Mr. Addison. "If you can please bring Stacey 2 pairs of shorts and 1 tank top and 1 regular tshirt."

"It's nice to meet you!" Stacey murmured as Jill left the room. "Thank you for hiring me Mr. Addison!"

"Not a problem Stacey. Also if you are ever closing with me I'd be happy to drive you home. I know the walk isn't far but I'd rather a pretty girl like you wasn't walking home alone." offered Mr. Addison.

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"I dunno Stacey," said Claudia as she tried to balance the phone with one hand while trying to paint her nails. "That's kinda creepy that he was talking about how beautiful you've become"

"Claud," began Stacey impatiently. "He was just being nice."

Claudia could sense this could be the start of an argument so she quickly changed the subject to the party the next night. In the back of her mind she kept thinking that Mr. Addison's comments seemed a little bit out of line.

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"Dawn? Can I come in?" asked Mary Anne as she knocked hesitantly on her step-sister's door. When she didn't get a response she pushed the door open. Dawn was laying facedown on her bed asleep. Mary Anne was about to leave when she noticed a notebook open on the bed. She glanced down and began reading.

_**Everyone is talking about the party at the Stevenson's. Who cares about a party? I just don't care about anything anymore. On my way home from school today I ran into Buddy Barrett. He kept trying to talk to me but I just couldn't talk to him. He and all the kids we used to baby-sit for just bring it all back again. I can't be reminded of baby-sitting. It was all my fault. I asked him for the ---**_

"Mary Anne? Dawn? Dinner's ready," called Sharon from downstairs. Mary Anne stepped back ashamed that she had actually been reading her stepsister's most intimate thoughts.

Just then Dawn stirred. She looked at Mary Anne suspiciously. "What are you doing in my room?"

"I-I just wanted to tell you dinner is ready." Mary Anne burst into tears. "Dawn, I want to help you! Please tell me what's wrong!"

"I'm fine Mary Anne." snapped Dawn. "Worry about your own problems. I heard Cokie talking in the bathroom how you and Logan are breaking up. AGAIN! She said it's because you're locked at the knees. I'd watch yourself, Cokie's a slut and would stop at nothing to get on Logan." Mary Anne stalked out of the room and headed downstairs.

"It's for the best," said Dawn out loud. "I can't have her knowing what happened. How I led him on…"

Mr. Spier bowed his head and said grace. Sharon began passing around the steamed vegetables and rice.

"So girls, how was school?" asked Mr. Spier. "Anything planned for the weekend?"

Dawn shook her head silently.

Mary Anne said, "Tonight I am going to finish my history project. Then tomorrow night I am going to sleep over at Kristy's and go to the Stevenson's for a little get-together"

"That sounds fun honey," said Sharon with a smile. "Are you going too, Dawn?"

Dawn pushed her chair back from the table. "No, may I be excused please?" She ran out of the kitchen and upstairs to her room.


	4. Chapter 4

"Kristin Amanda Thomas, will you stop moving, I'm smearing eye shadow all over!" cried Stacey.

Kristy pulled up her shirt and replied, "I am worried I'm going to fall out of this shirt. Plus these pants are way too tight." Stacey looked at her friend. She thought Kristy looked good in her jeans and orange strapless shirt. Her hair was loose and floated around her shoulders. Stacey had chosen for herself a short denim skirt and a red halter tank top Her mom had thought the tank top was a little too skimpy but Stacey wanted to show off in front of Austin.

Just then Kristy's jaw dropped as she caught sight of Mary Anne walking in. Stacey turned around to see what Kristy was gaping at. "Mary Anne! Is that shirt even legal?" exclaimed Stacey with a laugh.

Claudia came running in from the bathroom to see what the commotion was about. Her eyes widened as she watched Mary Anne twirl around to show off her new low rise jeans and green backless top. Mary Anne was wearing more eye makeup then she normally did and had straightened her shiny dark brown hair so it fell past her shoulders. Claudia had to admit Mary Anne looked hot; she just wasn't used to her shy, reserved friend dressing so sexy. Claudia looked down at her own outfit, a blue patterned halter sundress. She was wearing her hair down and was waiting for Mary Anne to add some big, loose curls.

"C'mon you guys. It's senior year. I have been little Ms. Shy in school for 12 years." Said Mary Anne. "I just want to have one night where I can let loose. Let my hair down. Be crazy and-"

"and show some skin?" finished Kristy laughing at the dirty look Mary Anne shot her.

"So Mary Anne, have you and Logan kissed and made up?" asked Claudia as she looked through Kristy's closet for a pair of shoes. "Or are you looking for a little fun with someone else tonight?"

Mary Anne made a face and replied, "I swear to God, we have broken up and gotten back together a gazillion times since he moved here. I do love him, I just don't know if I'm in love with him anymore. I mean I don't want to be tied down at college next year."

"I am definitely tired of the guys at SHS." complained Kristy. "It's impossible to find a decent guy there that Stacey or Claudia hasn't done".

"Hey I resent that comment." protested Claudia wincing as Mary Anne began curling her hair.

"Nope, you resemble that comment!" stated Kristy as she began laughing.

"Watch it Thomas, I hold in my hand a very dangerous mascara wand. I won't hesitate to use it" teased Stacey.

"You know I'm kidding. It just seems since Bart and I ended Freshman year, I haven't dated anyone I really clicked with." confessed Kristy. "You know? I mean Mary Anne has uh or had Logan. Stacey, you and Austin were hot and heavy Junior year, and then Sam the year before. Claudia, you and Alan were together for awhile, then you were with Irv Hirsch after that."

"Well Abby said her cousin was coming down…"began Claudia. "Maybe there will be a love connection?"

"I don't know.I just don't feel like trying anymore." Kristy sighed. "Stacey, I look like a hooker with all this make-up! Where was I? Oh yeah, even Dawn and Pete were getting very cozy back when we started high school. What ever happened with that anyway?"

Mary Anne shrugged, "You know what? I have no idea. Whatever her little episode was Freshman year when she ditched us all, she ditched Pete too. He was pretty heartbroken."

"You guys think maybe something bad happened between them?" questioned Stacey. "Like maybe he was moving too fast or something?"

"HA!" yelled Claudia laughing. "I went out with him a few times Sophmore year and I practically had to throw myself on him to even get him to kiss me."

"Maybe he doesn't like being taken advantage of," said Kristy with a smirk. "Maybe that's it. Dawn threw herself at him and he felt violated!"

The rest of the girls began laughing along with her.

"Keep dreaming Thomas. Keep dreaming!" said Stacey.

Just then the doorbell rang. Kristy ran downstairs to answer and came up a few minutes later with a short, pretty blonde in a floral sundress.

The other three girls screamed and jumped up.

" Shannon!" Squealed Stacey, "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Shannon Kilbourne gave the 3 girls a hug before sitting on Kristy's bed. "I've been so busy with school and choir and debate club that I haven't had time to think let alone see anyone." She said. "I ran into Abby at the drug store and she invited me and said you all were coming. I figured I'd walk over with you guys."

Shannon looked around at her friends then a look of sadness crossed her pretty face. "Dawn is still the same?" she asked.

"Let's not go there." Said Kristy. "We are 5 hot girls who are ready to party like it's 1999."

Stacey groaned. "God Kristy, no more cheesy 80 song references ok?"

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The 5 girls crossed the street and were happy to see a lot of cars parked up and down the street. Kristy opened the Stevenson's front door and they were greeted by a mass of people laughing, dancing and talking.

"I say we get drinks, circle the crowd, then analyze our plan of attack!" said Claudia with a twinkle in her eye.

"Works for me." Said Stacey.

Just then Abby came up to the group followed by two guys. The girls could tell Abby had defiantly been hitting the tequila as she swayed towards them.

"What is up my chicas?" she said loudly. "I want you to meet my cousin and his friend. Guys this is Shannon, Kristy, Claudia, Stacey & Mary Anne. Ladies, this is-"

Just then Stacey & Mary Anne looked up from the private joke they had been laughing at. They noticed the two guys next to Abby.

"Toby?" gasped Stacey. "You're the cousin?"

"Oh my God. Alex?" exclaimed Mary Anne.


	5. Chapter 5

"Dawn? Honey? Can I come in?" asked Sharon.

Dawn was startled out of her thoughts as she heard her mother. She watched the door open and her mother's concerned face peer in.

"I guess so…" replied Dawn listlessly.

"Honey, I just wanted to let you know that you have a visitor." Began Sharon. "Pete Black is downstairs, he asked to see you"

Dawn groaned inwardly. "Oh God, mother, can't you tell him I'm in the shower or something?"

"You'll have to tell him yourself sweetie. I don't know why you won't open up to me anymore Dawn!" stated Sharon as her eyes filled with tears. "I can't lie to your friends for you, if you want to continue to isolate yourself that's your prerogative, but I won't lie for you."

With that Sharon hurried from the room.

_I'm sorry mom…I'm ashamed of what you would think of me if I told you._ Dawn got up off her bed, glanced quickly in the mirror and headed downstairs.

Pete saw Dawn coming down the stairs and quickly stood up to greet her.

"What do you want Pete?" asked Dawn. She couldn't help but stare into his eyes, his warm, inviting eyes that she had gazed into so many times before. Dawn shook herself out of her daydream and folded her arms in front of her.

Pete cleared his throat nervously. "Dawn, I just was heading over to the Stevenson's for their party and saw your light on. I wanted to know if you would let me take you to that party."

Dawn shook her head and replied, "No thanks, I have plans." And turned to head back upstairs.

"Dawn! Wait!" called Pete. "This is our senior year. Please come with me. I promise I'll bring you straight home when you want. I miss you Dawn. I miss…us."

Dawn turned and looked at the pleading look in Pete's eyes. She began to think of Freshman year and Pete's promises that they'd be together forever. She had believed him back then.

Just then Sharon stepped into the room. "I couldn't help overhearing, how wonderful that Pete is here to take you to that party Dawn! Why don't you go change sweetie, Pete and I will catch up while you get ready."

Dawn realized that going to the party with Pete would at least remove her from this house and her mother's never-ending questions. "Fine, I'll just be a few minutes."

Dawn sat at her dressing table and began brushing her hair. She thought of when Pete had asked her to go to the Freshman dance. It seemed so very long ago. After the dance, when he walked her to the door, he kissed her for the first time. Dawn felt the familiar flutter in her stomach. They had been inseparable. Their names were always joined Dawn-n-Pete, Pete-n-Dawn. She thought of the parties they attended, the movies, sitting on the swings in the park sharing their deepest secrets and dreams.

_Why did it have to change? _She thought. _Everything was so perfect until…I'm not going to think about that tonight. I am going to try and have a good time tonight._

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Pete sat in the Spier's living room. He could hear Sharon talking on the phone in the other room. He remembered sitting around a bonfire Freshman year with Dawn leaning back into him. _I think I'm falling in love with you Dawn._ He had brushed her silky hair behind her ear and whispered that to her. She turned and faced him, her eyes filling with tears. The kiss they shared after was a new kind. One of young love, one of promises, one of the future. Truthfully, he had never recovered from her breaking up with him. He had dated other girls, but never could muster up and feelings for any of them. He never had closure with Dawn. She just called him, a few days before the last dance of the year and said she couldn't be with him anymore. She never gave a reason.

"Pete, I'm ready."

Pete snapped back to reality and looked at the girl before him. The girl he still loved with every beat of his heart. She stood there in a flowered skirt and a soft blue shirt that matched her eyes perfectly. Her hair, was brushed back and held in place with a barrette.

Sharon came back into the room.

"Oh honey, you look beautiful." she said.

"Whatever mom, see you later." Dawn replied and stalked out of the room.

"Thank you Pete." Whispered Sharon hugging him. "Take good care of my baby."


	6. Chapter 6

"I can honestly say that you were just about the last person I ever expected to see here!" exclaimed Stacey as Toby guided her away from everyone in the hallway.

"Stace, you look incredible. I have so many things I want to say to you if you'll just give me the chance?" said Toby.

Stacey hesitated then nodded. Toby grabbed two beers from the kitchen and led Stacey to the Stevenson's patio. Stacey couldn't help but notice the way Austin was glaring at Toby as they passed through the house. _Wow, Toby, my first love , my first kiss, the first guy to dump me_. Thought Stacey with a chuckle. _What an ass._

Toby had definitely matured in the 5 years or so since Stacey had seen him last. He was about 6'1 and very muscular with short spiky brown hair, intense green eyes, and adorable dimples when he smiled. Toby pulled two chairs together on the patio and opened a beer before handing in to Stacey.

"So Stacey McGill, what the hell has been going on?" he began with a grin.

Stacey took a long drink of her beer. She was glad she had decided on the short skirt. Toby couldn't help but stare at her legs admiringly.

"Well, after crying in my room for years after you dumped me, I finally was able to pull myself together and try to lead a normal life once again." Said Stacey with a grin.

"God, Stacey, I was an ass." Said Toby sheepishly. "I mean we were just kids, I thought I was cool and wanted to impress a lifeguard and couldn't do that with a hot blonde by my side."

"It's all good Toby. We were young. Besides, you wouldn't have been able to handle me." She replied laughing.

"Ok seriously what is up? What have you been doing? Are you going to college next year?" asked Toby after downing half his beer.

"Well, I'm going to NYU in the fall. I actually got a small scholarship. I want to major in accounting." Said Stacey proudly. "Right now, I'm just living it up. Having fun, enjoying my senior year you know? Although I am starting a new job on Monday. What about you?"

"Well, I just finished my first year of college. Not sure what I want to major in. Right now, it's kind of parties and beer!" said Toby. "I joined a fraternity so that kept me busy, I play on the intramural hockey team with the fraternity. I'm going to go grab us a couple more beers if that's ok?"

Stacey nodded and watched Toby step through the glass door into the house.

Just then Austin came walking over.

"Wow Stacey, can't even say hello to me before you drape yourself all over another guy?" he snarled at her.

"Relax Austin." Stacey drawled. "He's an old friend. We're just catching up." She took a long drink of her beer and smiled as she noticed Austin's eyes traveling up her legs to her short skirt. She was distracted by giggling noises coming from the bushes. Just then Cokie Mason came walking out of the darkness. Stacey could see her trying to readjust her clothing and pick grass out of her hair.

"Hrmph, nice outfit McGill." Purred Cokie. "You buy that at a garage sale?"

"Gee Cokie, I see you're coming out of the bushes. Another satisfied paying customer I presume?' Retorted Stacey. She had to admit that Cokie did look good. She was wearing a low cut black tank top and a tight fitting pair of camouflage pants.

Cokie's face flushed as she heard the laughter from the bystanders on the patio.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she hissed. Her scowl turned into a grin as Stacey's face went from pleased to shock as they watched Logan come from the same direction that Cokie had. Just then Toby came walking back outside balancing two beers and two shots.

"Hi Logan." Said Cokie. "Let's go grab a beer."

"Stacey, it's not what you think-" began Logan.

"Toby, let's go see what Mary Anne and Alex are up to. They looked very cozy when we left them earlier." Stated Stacey. She was glad to see the color drain from Logan's face. She gave Austin a wink, then took the shot Toby gave her, tossing the plastic cup over her shoulder in Cokie's direction. She threaded her arm through Toby's and led him inside.

Logan glanced around as he heard Shawna Riverson telling Susan Taylor how shocked she was at Mary Anne's outfit.

"Logie…" whined Cokie. "Come take a walk with me."

Logan ignored her and began walking in the house. _I have to explain this to Mary Anne before Stacey does. Nothing happened with Cokie. I was helping her look for earring then she tripped over me and we fell into the bush. I love Mary Anne. Cokie's just a dumb slut. But who the hell is Alex?_

Logan searched the house for about 10 minutes and finally went into the Stevenson's basement looking for Mary Anne. He could see Shannon and Kristy playing beer pong with Alan and Price. Claudia was facing him laughing about something Anna was saying. He scanned the room quickly. He noticed a guy about 5'10 with sandy brown hair engaged in a serious conversation with someone. _Who is that guy? He looks kinda familiar…_

There was a pole blocking his view of who he was talking to though. Logan moved to the right and noticed a brunette wearing jeans so low they were practically falling off and a top that was practically non-existent.. _Hmm, I wonder who that is. She's got a smoking little body that's for sure._ _ She would have to be pretty easy to wear a top like that though._ Just then the brunette tossed her hair over her shoulder and glanced behind her. Logan's eyes locked with Mary Anne's. His mouth was dry. _What was his Mary Anne doing dressed like that? Who the hell was that guy who kept touching her? _He watched Mary Anne take the guy by his hand and lead him over. Logan was shocked at how made up Mary Anne was.

"Logan, I'd like to reintroduce you to Alex." Said Mary Anne. "Alex, this is Logan."

"Hey man what's up?" asked Alex and he reached out to shake Logan's hand. "Shit, I think we met for about 2 seconds in Sea City a long time ago!"

Logan cursed silently under his breath. _That's where this tool is from._

"I gotta tell you Logan, How'd you ever let go of a hottie like Mary Anne?" teased Alex not noticing the look of shock on Logan's face.

Mary Anne gave Logan a cold smile. "You wouldn't believe the conversation Stacey and I had in the bathroom Logan." Said Mary Anne trying to keep the hurt out of her voice. "Come on Alex, I think we're up next for beer pong."

"Mary Anne can I talk to you for a minute?" pleaded Logan.

_Uh-oh. _Thought Cokie as she watched from across the room as Logan took Mary Anne a few feet away from Alex. _I've got to do something fast._

"Do you know how hurt I was Logan? I realize that we are taking a break for a little bit, but that does NOT mean that you are to get it on with the first thing that comes along." Spat Mary Anne.

"It wasn't like that-" began Logan. "Nothing happened! I was outside and Cokie came up and-"

"There you are!" exclaimed Cokie wrapping her arms around Logan from behind. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go for a little swim in the pool."

"Cokie, I am trying to explain to Mary Anne what happened earlier." Said Logan.

"I got my answer. Thanks anyway Logan." Muttered Mary Anne. She leaned in close to Logan and whispered in his ear. "It's over, we're over. Have a nice life!"

Cokie watched Mary Anne stomp away towards a guy she had never seen before and walk over to the beer pong table.

"Wow, she moves fast!" remarked Cokie mustering up some tears. "Logie, I feel terrible, is there anyway I can make it up to you? I'll go tell Mary Anne the truth right now."

Logan felt a wave of sympathy for Cokie. Maybe she wasn't as bad as the girls thought. She really did look sympathetic.

"You know what Cokie?" asked Logan. " What do you say we get nice and drunk?"

_Maybe Cokie is just what I need to forget Mary Anne. And a lot of beer…._

Author's Note: I know some of you may be upset that the BSC members can be so spiteful and catty but they are high school seniors after all. Please let me know what you think and thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

_I can do this, I can do this, I can do this!_ Thought Dawn as she stared out the window of Pete's car.

"Dawn?" asked Pete. "I know I told you this back at the house, but you really do look beautiful tonight…"

Dawn smiled shyly at Pete, "I never thanked you for convincing me to come out tonight. It feels nice to be 'normal' again."

Pete pulled into an open space lining the streets near the Stevenson's. "Dawn? What ever happened between us? It just suddenly ended. Freshman year was the best year of my life. Ever since we broke up, I barely see you. It's like you changed. You've become so withdrawn. I care about you Dawn. I honestly do."

Just then, the beginning strands of the song "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain came on the radio. Dawn and Pete listened for awhile in silence.

_The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful  
Stop me and steal my breath.  
And emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky  
Never revealing their depth.  
Tell me that we belong together,  
Dress it up with the trappings of love.  
I'll be captivated,  
I'll hang from your lips,  
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above._

I'll be your crying shoulder,  
I'll be love's suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older,  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life.

"Remember this song Dawn?" asked Pete.

"Of course I do, this was our song. The first slow song we ever danced to." replied Dawn with tears in her eyes. She bit her bottom lip and looked out the window to keep from crying.

Pete reached over and covered her hand with his own. Dawn looked over startled.

"It's all still true." Whispered Pete huskily as he leaned towards her. "I will always be your crying shoulder and the greatest fan of your life."

_Oh my God. _Thought Dawn. _This cannot be happening. I can't breathe. I have to get out of here._ With all her might she pushed Pete away from her. She fumbled with her door until she was able to open it with her trembling fingers. She jumped out of the car and began running away from the car.

"Dawn!" yelled Pete. "Come back! I'm sorry. I never meant to upset you." Pete looked down the street but couldn't see Dawn anywhere. He sat back in the car and listened as the song finished up.

_I'll be better when I'm older,  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life.  
The greatest fan of your life.  
...greatest fan of your life._

"Yeah, sure. What a great guy I am" He muttered. "I finally get her out of the house and she runs away from me like I'm a maniac."

Just then Howie, Trevor Sanbourne and Erica Blumberg came walking up.

"Yo Petey," teased Howie. "You ready to par-tay?"

"You might say that" replied Pete hitting Howie on the arm. "Let's go!"

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Dawn pressed her sweaty forehead to the cool metal lamppost. She took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself down. Her mind began racing back to that fateful night.

_No, please, I'm not comfortable with this. You're scaring me._

_Come on Dawn, you're the one whose been coming onto me for so long._

_No, I didn't mean to. I-I-I just thought you were so nice and_

"Dawn Shafer? Come out come out wherever you are!" called Abby.

Dawn quickly blocked the awful memory from her mind and couldn't help but smile at the way Abby was swaying towards her. She was being supported by Price and Claudia.

"Pete jusht came into the housh and shaid you went for a walk?" said Abby slurring her words. "I wash worried so these yahoos insisted on coming with me to play hide and go seek Dawn." Abby dissolved into a fit of giggles causing her to fall over taking Claudia down with her.

"Come on Dawn," said Claudia laughing as she tried to untangle herself from the heap. "Please come back with us. I can't take much more of this."

"You guys go on ahead, I promise to come in for a minute." Replied Dawn. "I won't be staying long though."

"Whadda she shay?" asked Abby.

"She shaid-Jesus Abby, now you got me slurring and I'm not even that buzzed!-she said she'd be by in a bit." Said Price.

"Don't be long Dawn, drama is cropping up, surprise visitors, break-ups, hook-ups, and Cokie's outfit are all things you don't want to miss!" Exclaimed Claudia. "It's like an episode of Days of our Lives."

Dawn watched Claudia and Price lead Abby back towards her house. She really didn't want to go to the party but she knew her mother would ask her questions about the party.

She stood up, straightened her skirt and took a deep breath trying to clear her head.

_Here goes nothing…_


	8. Chapter 8

"Yo, Black!" called Robert Brewster. "Grab a beer then let's take on AJ & Austin in pool."

"I'll be in a minute" Pete replied. "I gotta do something."

Pete walked through the house out the front door. He saw Claudia in the driveway having an animated conversation with Stacey, Mary Anne and some guys he didn't know. He nodded his head in a greeting and continued down the walk.

"Wait, Pete," called Mary Anne. Pete stopped and turned. "I want to introduce you to some friends, this is Alex and Toby."

Pete shook the guys' hands then said "Not to be a dick or anything, but I've gotta run. I'm looking for dawn."

Mary Anne's eyes widened in shock as she nearly dropped her cup of beer. "My sister Dawn?"

"How many Dawns do you know Mary Anne?" teased Claudia.

"Let me come with you," said Mary Anne. "I want to talk to her."

"Thanks Mary Anne, but I kinda need to talk to her alone." Replied Pete.

Mary Anne nodded her head in understanding. "Come on guys, let's go back inside and see if Abby is still standing." She said giggling.

The group turned and heading back in the house as Pete hurried down the driveway.

At the end of the driveway he turned and felt his breath catch in his throat. There stood Dawn, her hair shining even in the moonlight. He noticed that she had been crying. He began walking towards her, his hands help out in front of him.

"I come in peace! truce? Please Dawn?" said Pete with a grin.

"I'm sorry I pushed you." She said. "I just was kinda overwhelmed. You know, this is practically the first party I've been to in years."

"Look, Dawn, I didn't-" began Pete.

Dawn held up her hand to silence him. "No apologies, in fact, let's just forget that ever happened. What do you say we head inside for a little bit?"

Pete nodded as Dawn began walking up the driveway. Halfway up the driveway Dawn turned around. "You coming or what?" she called up. Pete's face broke into a grin and he ran up the driveway to meet her.

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"Oh Claud-I-A, I'm down on my knees, begging you please to come home" Sang Alan Gray into the microphone.

"Jesus, who thought busting out the karaoke machine was a good idea?" muttered Shannon.

"Claud?" whispered Stacey. "Does he know the song is called Cecelia? Not claud-i-a?"

Claudia blushed and shook her head. "I have no idea. This is so embarrassing.I think I need to grab a drink."

Claudia went into the kitchen and poured herself another beer. She sat up on the counter and began to think. _It's so unfair. Stacey has Austin who is head over heels in love with her, then her old boyfriend Toby shows up randomly. Hot as hell and he seems to be all goo-goo eyed for her too. What do I have? Frickin' Alan Gray singing off-key karaoke?_

"Claud?" asked Shannon. "you ok? You seem a million miles away?"

"I'm good, just needed to get away from that horrible singing." She replied.

"Well did you want to go outside?" asked Shannon. "I saw a really hot guy out there that I've never met. I thought you could introduce me?"

The two friends walked outside. They saw Abby and Anna trying to organize a game of "Flip cups".

"Hey you two" called Anna. "We need two more for flip cups. These guys think they have a chance at beating us!"

Claudia took a look at their opponents. AJ, Robert, Price and Ross were lined up.

"Remind me again how to play?" said Shannon smiling coyly at Price.

Price grinned at Shannon. "I don't think we've met…I'm Price, and you are?"

"Price this is our friend Shannon, Shannon this is Price." Said Claudia. "Shannon goes to Stoneybrook prep which is why you haven't met."

"Ok object of the game is simple. One at a time each member of the team slams their beer. Once it's empty, using one finger you have to flip your cup so it's standing up" explained AJ.

The two teams lined up. Claudia took a deep breath and looked up only to see AJ gazing intently at her. _Whoa, has he always been that cute?_ She wondered.

"GO!" yelled Anna. Claudia and AJ both expertly slammed their beers and tried to flip their cups to the upright position.

"Go Shannon" yelled Claudia as her cup landed correctly. She could hear people cheering and noticed Stacey, Mary Anne, Alex & Toby had joined the crowd. _Where is Kristy?_ She wondered.

A few minutes later as the girls waited for the boys to come back with more beer, Claudia had a chance to inquire about Kristy.

"I haven't seen her for awhile." Said Shannon. "Ooh the boys are back for round 2! Ready to lose again?"

After losing a second time, the guys asked for a few minutes before challenging them again.

"I think I'm going to look for Kristy." Said Claudia.

"Want me to come with you?" asked Shannon.

Claudia tried to keep from laughing as she noticed Shannon pleading with her to let her stay.

"Nah, I'm ok." Replied Claudia. "Have Price tell you the funny story of when he peed his pants in 7th grade." Claudia ducked as Price threw an empty cup at her.

"I'll go with you Claudia." Said AJ. "I could use some exercise."

Claudia tried to ignore the grin from Stacey and the winks from Shannon & Mary Anne.

"I think theys are gonna hook up!" slurred Abby.

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As Claudia and AJ walked across the Stevenson's massive lawn they noticed Dawn and Pete sitting on the grass talking.

Claudia waved and called out "Have you guys seen Kristy?"

"I haven't seen her yet." Replied Dawn. Just then AJ walked over and handed Pete 2 beers.

"Not to worry Bro, I loaded my pockets." He said. He opened two more beers and gave one to Claudia.

"Let's check the pool," said Claudia as she drank some of her beer. "Maybe she felt the need for a swim?"

They walked down towards the pool. Claudia couldn't believe how much fun she was having with AJ. She could hear muffled talking and giggling coming from the pool.

As they walked through the gate, Claudia noticed an orange strapless shirt on a chair along with a pair of jeans. She could barely make out 2 figures locked in an embrace against the wall of the pool. She could hear AJ snickering as he drank his beer.

Just then the moon came out from behind a cloud and she could see the figures in the pool perfectly.

"Ohmygod Kristy?" asked Claudia shocked.

"Whose that guy?" asked AJ still laughing.

"That's her old boyfriend…Bart Taylor!!" she replied.


	9. Chapter 9

Shannon closed her eyes as she felt Price lean in towards her. She had a feeling he was going to kiss her after the way they had been flirting all night. When he had suggested they take a walk to find Claudia & AJ, she knew he had other ideas.

As his lips touched hers, Shannon let herself go and responded eagerly to his kiss. Her arms found their way around his neck and she pulled him close. After they parted, Price looked into her eyes and gave her a half smile.

"Did they teach you to kiss like that in prep school?" He asked.

Shannon laughed in response, "Wouldn't you like to know?" Deep inside, her heart was racing. She had spent her senior year single trying to keep her grades as high as possible. She wanted to have a high enough GPA to enter the accelerated English program at Colombia in the fall. The problem was that she could see herself really starting to like Price. For one thing, he was gorgeous, longish light brown hair, hazel eyes and an adorable smile. He was easy to talk to, funny and very smart as well. She could imagine the two of them dancing under the stars at both their proms. She would finally feel accepted for something other than her academics. All her life, she had been sensible, busy, smart Shannon. She had been too focused on school to really get into the dating phase. _Maybe that was because I didn't want to put any effort into trying to make a relationship work out. Price is different…_ _What am I thinking?_ She thought. _He's not going to be interested in me. He's drunk, I'm buzzed. I barely know him and I'm practically planning out the future._

"Shannon?" asked Price. "You ok? You seem a million miles away!"

Shannon shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. She smiled warmly up at Price. "I'm fine; I was just thinking how I needed to just live for the moment. Too much planning makes Shannon a dull girl" She gave his arm a squeeze then slipped her hand in his as they continued walking along the lawn.

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"So Stacey, you think you might want to come visit me when you are at NYU?" asked Toby shyly. "I'd love to show you around my campus, you could meet the guys in my fraternity, maybe come to one of our games and…"

Stacey tried to listen as Toby droned on and on about his big plans for them this fall. Her mind kept going back to Austin. _He looked so hurt when he thought Toby and I were together. _She saw Austin across the room. He looked upset and bored with the conversation Alan and Shawna were having.Stacey caught Austin's eye from across the room and gave him a huge smile. She beckoned him over to where she and Toby were standing.

Austin came over and looked at Toby warily.

"Austin, this is an old friend of mine AND Abby & Anna's cousin Toby." Introduced Stacey. Toby stretched out his arm for a handshake.

Toby, this is, this is, my boyfriend Austin." She Stammered. Austin quickly hid the look of surprise on his face as Toby's face turned into an ugly scowl.

"Nice to meet you, hey if you two can excuse me I want to talk to Anna for a minute." Said Toby. With that, he stalked away without looking back.

"What was that all about?" asked Austin

"I'm sorry, it's just, I didn't want to give him the wrong idea and you and I have been through a lot and…"

"Stacey, I've wanted to be your boyfriend again all year. All you had to do was ask." Austin leaned in to kiss her. Stacey put up her hands and gently pushed him away.

"Austin, I don't know if I want that right now. I just wanted to let Toby down easy. You kinda hurt me last year after prom and I'm busy starting a new job and…Why don't we start hanging out again and maybe see where things take us?" explained Stacey breathlessly. "Thank you for getting me out of that weird situation Austin…"

Austin replied angrily, "Whatever Stacey, you call me when it's convenient for you ok? Cuz I don't have feelings apparently. It's all about Stacey as usual. Oh, maybe Austin can save Stacey once again…See you around."

Stacey watched Austin walk away from her then turned and headed outside for some fresh air. She hoped she could find her friends so they could leave soon. This night had been nothing short of a disaster for her. _Oh well, at least I start my new job tomorrow!_

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"Kristy! Stop laughing and tell me how the hell you ended up in just your bra and underwear in the Stevenson's pool with frickin' Bart Taylor!" hissed Claudia. She glanced over her shoulder to where AJ and Bart were talking and hoped they didn't hear her.

"Jesus Claud. Spaz down!" replied Kristy trying to wring the water out of her hair. "it's kind of funny actually. Let me grab a beer and I'll tell you the story."

Kristy opened 2 beers and gave one to Claudia then began her story. "Ok, so Mary Anne was making bunny eyes at the Alex kid, Shannon was flirting with Price, you were flirting with anything that walked-"

"Kristy!" protested Claudia.

"Hmm, where was I? Oh, even Anna & Abby were chatting it up with guys. And then the icing on the cake. Frickin' Dawn Shafer goes walking with Pete Black. Dawn! Dawn the ghost of a girl who hasn't seen the daylight in like 3 years Dawn!" Kristy swayed a little almost losing her balance.

"Does this story have a point?" said Claudia with a grin.

"I'm getting to that. So there I was all dressed up with no cute boys to talk to. So I loaded up some beers, and thought I'd take a walk. Lo and behold Bart Taylor comes walking up and asked if I wanted to play baseball. So we shot gunned some beers, started flirting, one thing led to another and we started making out in the pool. Apparently he has a different idea of running the bases!" Kristy broke down into a fit of giggles again.

"Do you like him again Kristy?" asked Claudia.

"It's just fun Claudia, no strings attached. I wasn't going to do anything other than make out with him anyway." Said Kristy. "I haven't slept with anyone so far, my first time is certainly not going to be in the Stevenson's pool with Bart Taylor!"

Claudia gave Kristy a hug and said, "Ok we're going to head back to the party. See you later?" Kristy replied "I'm ready to head back up myself, maybe even go home. I'm kinda tired and really frickin' drunk."

The group headed back towards the house calling hello to Dawn and Pete on their way.

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"Pete, I appreciate you coming out here to sit with me. And for convincing me to come out." Said Dawn shyly. She tried not to flinch when Pete brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"I also wanted to thank you for not pressuring me to talk about things."

Pete noticed how her eyes sparkled. It had been a great night for him. He and Dawn had discussed books, homework, gossiped, talked about her health beliefs, his family history etc. It seemed as if the night had flown by. He stood up and reached down to help her stand up.

"I think I'd like to go home now, Can you take me?" asked Dawn.

"For you Dawn? Anything…" He replied.

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Logan tried to ignore the peals of laughter and Mary Anne's voice as it drifted towards where he and Cokie were standing with some of her friends.

"Oh Alex, if I do another shot I just may become a crazy woman!" Logan watched as Alex tried to tease Mary Anne into trying a body shot. He looked around and saw Shannon like Price's neck, sprinkle salt, lick again then take a shot of tequila. She followed by taking a piece of lemon from Price's mouth. _If I see Mary Anne do a body shot off Alex, I may just kill him_ he though.

"Logie, you didn't even laugh at my story!" whined Cokie.

"Someone get this girl a shot of tequila" yelled Alex pointing at Mary Anne.

"Cokie, what do you say we take a walk?" asked Logan as he slammed his full beer. He heard Alan whisper nice one Bruno as he and Cokie walked off the deck to the lawn. They hadn't gone more than a few yards when Cokie jumped on him and began kissing him with a sort of desperation that only he could respond with.

Mary Anne tried not to notice as Logan walked off with Cokie. _It's time I enjoyed myself. Little Miss dependable is a thing of the past. Logan and I are over. Alex is a great guy. It's time I had some fun._

"Alex! I told you I wasn't going to do a shot!" protested Mary Anne then she gave him a huge wink and coy smile. "That is, not unless you do a body shot off me first."

"Oh My God! Mary Anne!" laughed Anna. "I've never seen this side of you!"

"I like seeing this side of her." Whispered Dave Griffin to Alan as he admired Mary Anne as she bent down to adjust her shoe.

Mary Anne felt her face flush as she heard the comment Dave had said. She stood up and realized she was quite buzzed. She heard her name being called and turned and saw Kristy, Claudia, AJ & Bart Taylor walking towards her.

"Mary Anne, I think I'm going to take off, you can stay or come with me. Dawn and Pete just left." Said Kristy.

"Is anyone else staying?" asked Mary Anne pleadingly.

About 15 minutes later it was decided that Kristy & Stacey would be leaving. Claudia promised to be back to Kristy's house in an hour or so and would drag Mary Anne and Shannon with her.

After Stacey & Kristy left, Claudia turned to AJ and said with a grin, "What's this I hear about body shots?"

A/N: I promise to wrap up the party next chapter and continue on with the secret. I just needed to give a bit more background on the girl's stories. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

"SHH! Mary Anne! Shush, your gonna wake them up!" Whispered Claudia loudly.

Stacey rolled over and checked the clock on Kristy's nightstand. She sat up and turned on the light on the table. Kristy moaned and began to stir underneath the pile of covers she was under. Stacey blinked a few times then focused on the scene in front of her. Claudia and Mary Anne were supporting each other and trying to stop themselves from laughing. She heard footsteps approaching then watched as Shannon gracefully walked into the room then fell over a pair of shoes and landed in a heap on the floor.

"I assume they made it home?" Kristy mumbled from underneath the covers. She poked her head out, looked at her friends and started laughing. "And I thought I was drunk!" she said watching the three of them try to change into shorts and tshirts.

"Kristy!" called Shannon. "I need shorts to sleep in, I decided to stay here rather than have mom hear me fall into the front door!"

Claudia, Mary Anne and Shannon all changed then climbed into Kristy's king size bed and sat facing Stacey and Kristy.

"I'm in love!" squealed Shannon. "Price is adorable. And funny and sweet and-"

"A great kisser?" finished off Claudia with a gleam in her eye. Before Shannon could hit her with a pillow Mary Anne chimed in. "You're one to talk Claud, you and AJ didn't come up for air!"

"Whatever!" retorted Claudia. She turned to face Kristy & Stacey once again. "Mary Anne gets the title of make out bandit though. She and Alex practically did it on the Stevenson's deck."

"Hey hey hey, you've giving me a hangover already." whined Kristy as she tried to grab Mary Anne before she could push Claudia off the bed. "Ok, I say we grab a bag of chips, some sodas, I need an aspirin, and let's re-cap the night."

Fifteen minutes later the 5 friends were seated in a circle roaring with laughter as Kristy finished telling the story of her and Bart being caught in the pool.

"So what's up with that Kristy? You and Bart together again?" teased Mary Anne.

"Hell no!" replied Kristy. "Bart and I was the result of Kristy feeling sorry for herself and too many beers. I may have my eye on someone else."

"Oooooooh!!! WHO????" The girls all asked.

"Maybe Cary Reitlin. He looked hot tonight." She admitted sheepishly.

"I'm too drunk to process that statement right now." Said Claudia shaking her head. "remind me of that in the morning."

"Ok Stacey, what happened with you? I saw you with Toby then Austin then you were gone!" remarked Shannon.

"Well I realized that attempting anything with Toby was a bad idea. I'm not into long distance and he's kind of a big bore. So I called Austin over to save me, and he got the wrong idea, which was kinda my fault and he got mad at me. I decided to call it a night before I could piss anyone else off." Said Stacey.

"So do you want to get back with Austin?" asked Claudia.

"I guess a part of me does and the other part is just like screw it, this is my senior year. I start a new job tomorrow where I'll meet lots of new guys I think." Stacey trailed off.

"But they just aren't Austin?" said Mary Anne putting a hand on Stacey's shoulder.

"Right…" replied Stacey sheepishly. "I'm an ass. I'll call him later this week and see if he wants to hang out."

"Well I don't know if AJ wants to date me or anything. We just kind of did some shots, laughed a lot, and kissed a few times." Said Claudia. "He's so cute, just not really my type though. He did keep me from having to talk to Alan though."

"That's so gay…" began Kristy. "Having a type I mean. Who cares if he's a jock and you're an artsy weirdo."

"If I wasn't so drunk I'd beat your ass Thomas." Said Claudia giggling.

"Seriously though, if you click with someone and had fun why not just date them?" Kristy stated matter of factly.

"Well, if he calls, I'll give it a try. Are you happy?" retorted Claudia. "Artsy weirdo? Is that the best you can come up with? Shannon? You're up!"

"Well after I made Claud introduce me to Price we started playing drinking games." Shannon felt her cheeks flush at the memory. "Then we went for a walk, and he kissed me and I totally kissed him back!"

"-anything else happen?" asked Stacey in a singsong voice.

Shannon felt her face go red again. "Well we kind of made out a little bit." She began to speak very quickly. "Oh my God you guys, we talked forever, I really kind of like him. He took my number? Do you think he'll call? Holy shit he's not one of your exes is he? Who dated him tell me! There has got to be a reason he was there alone."

"I can't even process what the hell you just said!" said Kristy reaching for another aspirin and glass of water.

"Dawn went to a dance with him once I think," ventured Stacey. "That was 7th grade? Wait, 8th grade, yeah. After that huge snowstorm? Anyway Price is a great guy. Everyone loves him. That'd be sweet if it worked out!"

"Speaking of Dawn" began Shannon. "I barely got a chance to talk to her, she looked ok though."

"Yeah, her and Pete were kind of cozy on the lawn there." Remarked Kristy.

Mary Anne bit her lip to keep from crying. "But why is it that she'll go out with Pete? And she won't even talk to me?"

Claudia and Shannon both gave Mary Anne a hug. "I wouldn't take it like that Mary Anne," said Stacey. "I mean, the point is, she was out, looked like she was having fun. We should all thank Pete for that."

"I guess you're right. It just hurts when she won't confide in me. But, I should thank Pete, that's the best I've seen my sis look in a long long time." Replied Mary Anne sniffling. "Ok guys, I had a great night. I need to pass out though. I'm supposed to babysit Lucy & Jamie tomorrow."

"Not so fast Spier!" yelled Kristy. "Spill it! There was that huge blow-up with Logan and Slutty Mason, then you and Alex were all sitting together. What happened?"

Mary Anne began to flush as everyone stared at her. "ok, I wasn't going to do anything with Alex. Honest. Not that I wanted to get back with Logan but I figured it'd be rude to rub it in his face you know?" Said Mary Anne as her words came tumbling out. "I mean Alex is the one guy Logan has ever been jealous of, and that was when we were frickin at Sea City when I was like 13! So Stacey tells me he and Cokie come out from behind the bushes looking all guilty. So she calls him out on it. Then she came and told me. I'm sorry you guys, I just realized most of you were in the basement when this all happened. Anyway, he and I started talking and he tried to deny that anything happened then HE LIED TO MY FACE because Cokie was all implying that they had arranged a little swim later on."

"I would have kicked her ass had she come down to the pool!" muttered Kristy.

"Uh thanks" said Mary Anne. "So anyway, Alex was there and so sweet and cute and we had a ton in common. I mean when I knew him before it was like surface stuff you know? But tonight we talked about college and he actually wants to be a teacher! He is transferring to University of Connecticut in the fall-" Mary Anne let her voice trail off.

"You're going to of U of C in the fall!" exclaimed Kristy.

"I know…that's why I was so excited to talk to Alex. It'd be nice to have a friendly face there…" stated Mary Anne. "I gave him my number and email. We are going to keep in touch. So we'll see. But yeah, he did kinda kiss me. And I let him, and I kissed him back big time. I was so drunk though. I feel bad cuz here I am blaming Logan for getting it on with Cokie and here I am…"

"Mary Anne, Cokie Mason is a whore who is taking advantage of the situation." Said Stacey. "You and Alex were friends a few years ago and you discovered it could possibly be something more so you kissed him. Technically you are single. You didn't have sex with him, you simply kissed a guy who you had a great connection with. Stop over-analyzing!"

"Thank you Dr. Mcgill!" said Claudia giggling. "hey where did Abby end up? She was so wasted. I feel bad for Anna!"

"God I hope they don't hate me now because of Toby." groaned Stacey. "I was kind of bitchy…"

"Well when we left the party was totally dying down." Said Shannon. "Abby and Anna were just kind of sitting around the karaoke with a few people. Although that one guy seemed kind of into Anna. "

"Who who who?" asked Mary Anne excitedly.

"Shit, I forget who is is…Nice looking, dark hair and eyes. He was kind of shy like she is." Shannon paused as she tried to think. "I know I've met him at other parties I've been to with you guys. Travis maybe? He said he was studying fine arts next year at University of Hartford.

"Trevor?" asked Claudia in a high pitched voice. "My old boyfriend Trevor Sandbourne?"

"Claud, you went out with him for like a day." Replied Stacey.

Claudia laughed until she fell off the bed. "Oh my God, I think they would be perfect together. She can play cello music to go with his God-awful poetry!"

"Is he a loser or something?" Asked Shannon.

"He's a nice guy."replied Mary Anne. "He just always acted a bit older than the rest of us."

"Well I also saw Abby throwing herself all over some Ross guy." Continued Shannon.

"Oh Lordy! That's going to be a mess!" Said Stacey laughing. "What is this? th grade romance revisisted?"

"What? They dated in 8th grade too?" Asked Shannon incredously.

"I don't know if dated is the word…oh whatever. I'm tired. Good night!" said Kristy.

A chorus of good nights followed as Claudia squished herself in between Kristy and Stacey. Shannon and Mary Anne made a makeshift bed on the floor with some pillows and blankets. As Kristy turned off the light, Stacey felt her stomach turn in excitement.

_I can't wait to start my new job tomorrow_.

About 5 miles away, Dawn finished writing about her night in her journal. She reread the last few lines she had written: _**Going out tonight was the first time I felt like everything may be alright. I felt free of my past and excited for the future. I owe so much of it to Pete and to my friends. Even though I don't really talk to them I could see how much they all care about me.**_ She bit the cap of her pen in thought. She decided to add one last part to her entry. _** Even though you blame me and say it was my fault, I'm beginning to realize it may not have been all my fault. How could I have led you on when I had a boyfriend? You tried to shatter my dreams. I'll come back stronger. You can burn in hell Troy Addison…**_


	11. Chapter 11

"Did you seriously say you were into Cary Reitlin?" asked Claudia as she tried to choke down a bagel with peanut butter on it in the Thomas-Brewer kitchen.

Kristy began laughing as she buttered a piece of toast. "I said maybe. Let's just drop it."

"What time did Shannon and Stacey leave? Do either of you know?" asked Mary Anne with a pained look on her face. She couldn't believe how much she drank last night. She thought of her kisses she shared with Alex and felt her face go red. He was pretty special, it was just too bad things with Logan ended so poorly. She hated the thought of having conflict with anyone…

"Stacey had to start her new job today. I think she had to be there at 10:30." Replied Claudia. "Shannon had to be on our side of town early so she told Stacey she'd drop her off at home. I forgot how much fun Shannon is! I miss not seeing her all the time."

Kristy nodded in agreement. "So you guys want to go with me to Abby & Anna's and help clean up?"

"Bullshit Kristy!" teased Claudia. "You just want to know what happened after we all left!"

"Touche Kishi..." said Kristy. "But seriously, we could give them a hand…"

The three girls finished their breakfast then trudged over to the Stevenson's to help clean up and gossip.

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Maureen McGill pulled to a stop at a red light in downtown Stoneybrook and glanced at her daughter fidgeting next to her in the car.

"Honey, aren't those shorts a little…well-"

"Save it Mom." Snapped Stacey rubbing her head. She couldn't believe how late she had stayed up after the party. "It's part of my uniform and I think they are cute."

Mrs. McGill raised one eyebrow and sighed. "Did you have fun at the party? Meet any cute new boys?"

"God, Mother…can we not discuss this? It's Stoneybrook. It's the same guys at every party. Nobody new, no new mysterious older stranger arriving to whisk me away from this small town." Instantly Stacey felt horrible for snapping at her mom. It wasn't that she didn't like her mom, they had a great relationship. In fact Claudia had often commented how jealous she was of their mother-daughter relationship.

Stacey reached over to give her mom a hug. "I'm sorry mom, I'm just tired, nervous, and I think these shorts make my butt look huge!"

Mrs. McGill laughed. "Honey, you look great, a little under-dressed but great. I guess we should be glad your dad isn't here to see his little "boontsie" dressed like this!" Her eyes narrowed slightly as she thought of her ex-husband. He had become a very prominent business man, with a young trophy wife, and 2 year old little girl, Anya to boot. Anya was the apple of his eye. She knew Stacey tried to pretend it didn't bother her, but how could it not? He never had time for either of them, always at work. Suddenly he is Mr. Family Man who is able to balance his business and family equally.

"Mom!" yelled Stacey. "You almost passed it!" She could feel her stomach fluttering as she saw the fresh, new restaurant in front of her. She rolled down her window and took a deep breath. She could almost smell the new paint on the building mixing in with the spicy smell of barbeque. She gave her mom a hug and reminded her to pick her up at 5.

"Have fun and be careful!" called out Mrs. McGill as she drove away.

Stacey walked into the restaurant and saw about 4 girls dressed in outfits similar to hers all seated at a table. She glanced around nervously and was pleased when she saw Troy Addison beckoning her over.

"Stacey! Glad you are here honey! Why don't you have a seat with the rest of the girls? I like to do a brief meeting before we open just to go over any issues we might be having." Troy pulled a chair out for her. "In fact, why don't we go around the table and do some quick introductions. This is Stacey McGill. Stacey actually used to babysit for my kids Sean and Corrie before my ex-wife moved them to Tennessee a few years ago."

Stacey blushed and squirmed uncomfortably. She remembered when Mrs. Addison had left her husband and her children and moved back to her parents home in Tennessee. Mr. Addison had needed a lot of sitters as he was suddenly in sole custody of 2 children. Once the court had decided to give Mrs. Addison primary custody he only saw his kids a few weeks a year.

"and of course you know Jill, you met her last week." Finished Mr. Addison.

_Shit! I missed all the introductions. I hope I don't have to call anybody by their first name._ Stacey glanced around then gave a sigh of relief as she realized everyone was wearing nametags.

"Okay Stacey, you ready to get started?" asked Jill. Stacey couldn't help but be envious of Jill's poise and confidence. "We're one short today; one of the girls didn't show up, so we'll be pretty busy ok?"

Stacey nodded nervously trying to take a deep breath. She began to fiddle with the silver Porky Pig charm hanging around her neck. Mary Anne and Dawn had actually bought that for her for her 14th birthday. She liked to think of it as her lucky charm. Hopefully, it would bring her luck with this job.

An hour and a half later, Stacey was having the time of her life. It was fun following Jill around and flirting with customers. So far she had only carried out a few items to the waiting tables under Jill's supervision. It was amazing how quickly she was picking this up. _I haven't dropped anything yet!_ She thought as she played with her charm as she waited for Andy one of the cooks to serve up two full slabs of ribs. She was a little nervous about taking both of these out but the other girls didn't seem to have a problem.

"Order up, table 21." called Andy. Stacey gulped as she tried to balance the one order on her arm and she picked up the second. She could feel Mr. Addison's eyes on her as she made her way to the table in the back. Jill was behind her carrying 2 orders of French fries, wet naps, and an order of onion rings. Just then the door opened and she heard a familiar voice say, "Troy, I'm so sorry I was late, I couldn't find my keys!"

Stacey turned and saw Cokie Mason walking in wearing an outfit exactly like hers. She gasped in shock, just then her arm shook and a plate of ribs crashed to the floor. She slipped in the spilled sauce and fell dropping the other plate in the process. She heard Jill swear under her breath as she also slipped on the spilled food and fell into a heap on top of Stacey.

"Why Stacey McGill, I didn't know you worked here!" grinned Cokie as she flounced by. "By the way, you have barbeque sauce in your hair!"

"I see we have to work on your balancing technique." Said Jill as she tried to look stern. Just then she let loose with peals of laughter. "Welcome to Ribs-n-More, Stacey!"

Stacey groaned as she looked at the two of them covered in barbeque sauce, Jill had an onion ring in her hair and was holding an empty plate where fries used to be. The tables around them burst into applause as the two girls stood up slipping on sauce the entire time. Stacey brushed her hair off her face leaving a streak of barbeque sauce across her face. _What did I do to deserve to work with Cokie Mason?_


	12. Chapter 12

a/n sorry this is kind of a boring chapter needed to do a quick re-cap (mainly for my sake lol) the next chapter should be better

"You have absolutely GOT to be frickin' kidding me?" exclaimed Claudia as she sat on her bed folding clothes. Her other hand was holding onto her phone as she shook her head in amazement at Stacey's story. "Cokie works at Ribs-n-More with you? That royally sucks!"

"You're telling me! On top of it all, I looked like an ass in front of her, the other girls, the customers and especially Troy when I fell! Troy actually took me in the back room and talked to me til I felt better." Stacey groaned inwardly as she thought of her earlier mishap. "Plus my butt kind of hurts from falling so hard, I have barbeque sauce under my nails, I have rib bits stuck in my hair AND I didn't get to keep any tips since I'm training."

Claudia paused as she listened to what Stacey was saying. For some reason, part of her story was rubbing her the wrong way but she couldn't put her finger on what that was.

"Are you going to stick with it Stace?"

"Oh for sure, I love it. Where else can I get paid to flirt with guys?" she replied giggling. "Now, ms. Claudia Lynn Kishi, I want full details about AJ and don't you dare leave anything out…"

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Mary Anne groaned as she heard someone knock on her bedroom door. All she wanted to do was nap until her headache went away. "Come in!"

"Mary Anne?" asked Dawn hesitantly. "Are you ok?"

Mary Anne sat up quickly and looked at her stepsister in surprise. She gestured for Dawn to come in.

"I-I wanted to put some of that hair restoring mask in my hair but I know I'll have trouble combing it through." Dawn paused looking embarrassed. "I wondered if you could help?" She let the question trail off.

"Absolutely Dawn, I'd love to." Mary Anne got up quickly and positioned Dawn in her desk chair in front of her bed. She began applying the greenish mask to Dawn's hair and combing in from roots to ends. "It was good to see you last night sis. I wish we could have hung out more though."

"Well I wasn't planning on doing anything last night. You know that. But Pete just randomly stopped over and mom was so annoying that I thought by going out for a little bit it would calm her down." Dawn explained in a rush.

"She's just worried about you Dawn, we all are." Said Mary Anne gently. "I mean you never have opened-"

"Mary Anne, I'm not ready to talk about that, please stop pressuring me. I need to do things on my own time." Dawn could feel her eyes filling up with tears.

Mary Anne dropped the comb and knelt before Dawn and picked up one of her hands. Wordlessly she nodded and gave Dawn's hand a squeeze. She stood up and whispered "I'm here when you are ready…"

Dawn wiped away her tears. "So I saw some interesting pairing last night? Shannon and Price?"

Mary Anne smiled as she began filling Dawn in on the events of last night. She was happy to see her sister so interested in the lives of their friends again. Mary Anne sat back on the bed while Dawn took a quick phone call from Pete. She had always admired Pete and hoped Dawn would really give the relationship another chance. _Everyone deserves to be happy…_She felt her face flush as she thought of going to the Stevenson's that morning to help clean up and seeing Alex and Toby still there. Alex had somehow convinced Abby, Anna and herself to come up to University of Conn soon to tour the campus. He had promised to show them around and take them to some fun parties. She couldn't believe he was still interested after her drunken behavior the previous night and had said as much to him.

"Mary Anne…" he replied. "Don't you realize I want to know every side of you! Drunk Mary Anne, Hungover Mary Anne, and the true Mary Anne, the sweet, sensitive, caring Mary Anne I've known all these years."

She was jolted out of her daydream by a yelp from Dawn.

"I think my hair is frying right off my scalp!" The two girls ran laughing and screaming to the bathroom to wash Dawn's hair.

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"Cary? It's Kristy." Kristy tapped her foot impatiently against the foot of her bed. "NO!!! Kristy Thomas you ass." She grimaced as she heard Cary start laughing on the other end of his phone.

"I knew it was you shorty." He replied. "That party was pretty tight last night eh? I barely saw you although I heard there was a LOT of you to be seen by the pool."

"Ok, Reitlin, shut up, I'm sorry I called. I forgot that you will always be an immature idiot who doesn't deserve the time of day"

"But I'm a cute idiot right? Kristy? Kristy? Damn." Cary laughed as he realized Kristy had hung up on him. He quickly dialed up her number.

"Kristy, I'm sorry, don't hang up. What's up? Why'd you call?"

Kristy slowly counted to 3. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. "Ok, you know how there is the big basketball game Wednesday against Stamford High? Well AJ wants Claudia to go and watch him play and she doesn't want to go by herself. I told her I'd go with her then Price asked Shannon to go but he'll be up and down a lot covering the game for the paper. I think Ross and Abby might go or they might just meet everyone at Pizza express after so I was wondering if you planned on going to the game… Hello? Cary?"

"Wait can you repeat that?"

"Ok Cary I'm hanging up on you again."

"Wait Kristy I'm kidding. You just were talking a million miles a minute. Let me get this straight. Skinny Dippin' Thomas is asking me out on a date?"

"Goodbye Cary…"

"Thomas, spazz down. That sounds like fun. You said we'll go to the game then hit Pizza Express after? You know that I like all those guys. I think it sounds like a good time. What time should I pick you up?"

Kristy pulled the phone away from her mouth as she let out a huge breath that she had been holding for a few minutes. "Oh no you don't Reitlin. I'll pick you up at 7:00! See you in 5th period tomorrow. Ciao!"


	13. Chapter 13

Shannon quickly scanned the crowded gym looking for a familiar face. She turned hesitantly to Price as she balanced on the tiny bleacher step.

"I-I don't see Kristy or Claudia or Abby or anyone!" she stated.

"You afraid to be stuck sitting with me for a whole game?" replied Price with a grin on his face.

"No, no not at all, I just meant…" Just then an ear piercing whistle interrupted their conversation.

"Shannon! Price! Yo! We're over here!" Screamed Kristy.

Shannon breathed a sigh of relief as she spotted Kristy hopping up and down on her seat halfway down the bleachers. She felt her face grow hot as people turned to watch as Price grabbed her hand and led her down the steps to their friends.

"Dammit, Reitlin," exclaimed Price good-naturedly. "Move over, I need to sit on the end so I can do some interviews during halftime." Shannon made her way across the row hugging Claudia, Abby and Kristy. She settled down in her seat and absentmindedly plucked a hair off of her ice blue sweater. She wanted everything to go perfectly on this date and had tried on everything in her closet before settling on cute jeans, black boots and her sweater. She knew she had made the right choice when Price's eyes lit up as he saw her.

"Shannon? I'm going to grab the group some drinks, what do you want?" asked Price.

"I'll take a diet coke please." She replied as Price gave her a wink and headed towards the concession stands.

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Kristy glanced at Cary who was in an animated conversation with Ross discussing the finer points of Stamford's team. She had chimed in a few times but stopped when Claudia shook her head in an effort to silence her. _What's the big deal? So I know sports. Aren't we here to watch a game?_

She glanced down the row and realized what her friends were wearing. Claudia had on a fairly tame pair of jeans, an off the shoulder sweatshirt in a hot pink color and leg warmers. She had explained that her inspiration for her look was based on the movie Flashdance which she had seen the night before. Abby had on a pair of low rise brown cords with a cream colored button up shirt. She had actually straightened her hair and it fell in waves halfway down her back. Shannon looked gorgeous as usual. Kristy looked down at her well worn jeans and her plain red sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun and she hadn't put on much make-up. Cary had treated her like one of the guys since she picked him up. _Maybe I am too much of a tomboy?_ She wondered. She made a conscious effort to ask Stacey to go shopping with her to pick out some more fashionable clothes. Then she thought that maybe she could put a little more effort into her hair and make-up as well. _It'd be nice to be like Stacey or Claudia who guys practically fall all over themselves to talk to them. I've just kind of been one of the guys since grade school. This is my Senior Year. I don't want to spend it on the sidelines watching everyone else have fun. I want to be noticed too._

"Hey guys? Where's Stacey tonight?" asked Kristy.

"Oh, I guess Cokie didn't want to work tonight so Mr. Addison called Stacey to see if she wanted to pick up extra hours." Explained Claudia. "and since she maxed out her mom's Visa last time she was at the mall, she needs the money."

"What's the name of the restaurant she works at?" asked Shannon.

"Ribs-n-More" answered Claudia. She looked over and saw Ross and Cary snickering. "Is something amusing?

"Dude, I didn't know Stacey worked at Rib-n-whores!" stated Cary. He and Ross let loose with more laughter. Kristy looked over and could see Shannon covering her mouth trying not to laugh. She could see Abby's eyes watering as she also tried to contain herself. Next thing she new the whole group burst into laugher as Price came walking back carrying a tray of drinks. "Ok, what'd I miss?" he asked with a grin.

Just then Abby felt someone jab her in the back as they tried to situate themselves in their seats in the row behind them. She turned around to give them a piece of her mind and gasped in surprise instead.

"Hey Abby! I see the dog pound let you out tonight?" drawled Cokie Mason wearing a skintight pair of black pants and lime green top. She then turned to Logan and said "Baby, can we sit somewhere else? I won't be able to see any goals with this mass of fur in front of me…"

Logan flushed with embarrassment. "Cokie, they are baskets, not goals. And I kinda wanted to talk to Price a little bit about the coverage we have on this game."

Price held up his hand. "Bruno, if you don't mind, I'd rather we didn't really talk shop tonight. I'm here with Shannon and don't want to spend more time than I have to away from her. I'm interviewing some of the players at halftime then Coach Arnold after the game. If you want to take some pictures then, we'll be set."

Logan nodded in agreement then quietly asked Cokie if she wanted to move over a few sections.

"I cannot believe the nerve of him!" flashed Claudia angrily. "Bringing that bitch here to flaunt her in front of everyone. I mean geez, Mary Anne and him just broke up like 4 days ago! And don't get me started on that outfit! That is soooooooo last year!"

"What year was it that Flashdance came out?Not exactly last year eh?" whispered Price to Shannon. Shannon quickly took a drink to keep from giggling.

"Well Mary Anne was the one making out with that college guy at the party-"began Cary. He quickly looked at the girls' eyes narrowing into angry slits. "but…that's not the case I see. So, she can do whatever she wants but when Logan starts dating-"

"Just shut up and watch the game Reitlin." Muttered Kristy.

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"Mary Anne?" asked Dawn as she entered her step-sister's room. "Pete's coming over and I think we're going to go get some ice cream and watch a movie. Do you want to join us?"

"Mary Anne grinned as she looked at Dawn. "Wow, this is 2 nights in a row Mr. Black has come over…"

"No Monday he came over just because he needed help on his Government project and tonight he just-" Dawn started.

"Dawn! I'm teasing. I like Pete. I'm glad you two are spending time together." Mary Anne stated. "I'll tell you what, could bring me back an Oreo Flurry and I'll watch a movie with you guys. If that's ok? I just feel like I'm imposing on your date."

"You aren't imposing at all. If it will make you feel better why don't you invite Logan over? We could play Taboo or some other game?" asked Dawn.

Mary Anne's face clouded over. "Dawn, Logan and I broke up." Dawn let out a gasp of surprise as Mary Anne continued. "We haven't been right for a really long time. I think I just fell out of love with him. I mean this whole year I just seemed to dread our dates. The whole relationship was driving me nuts. Then he didn't come over like he was supposed to and that was the last straw. We agreed to go our separate ways and he went right to Cokie."

"Oh my Lord, He's dating Cokie Mason? She's such a slut!" cried Dawn.

"Tell me about it" replied Mary Anne. "it doesn't matter, Alex, remember that guy I met in Sea City like a gazillion years ago? He knows Anna & Abby's cousin and we really reconnected at that party Saturday night. We have so much in common and I can't wait to see him again. In fact, I think Abby, Anna and I are going to visit him up at U of C to kind of tour the campus next weekend."

"Do mom & Richard know you're going out with a college guy?" asked Dawn slyly.

"Well…let's just say I didn't NOT tell them, they just haven't asked me if I was dating any college guys." Exclaimed Mary Anne laughing. Just then the doorbell rang and Dawn went to let Pete in.

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"Alan…I know you are only 18. Your fake ID isn't going to work." Said Stacey as she rubbed her temples. _I thought I'd just make some extra cash and it'd be an easy night. How could I know Austin and his friends would come in and request to be in my section?_

"Who is this Alan you are referring to? If you look at my ID you will see it clearly says my name is Rudolfo Montez and I am in town visiting from Texas." Protested Alan as Dave and Austin laughed.

"Oh my Lord…Are you guys going to order any food because I have other customers." Stacey complained. She quickly took the guys' orders and heard Dave Griffin make a raunchy comment about her outfit to Austin and Alan as she walked away. She couldn't believe Austin had come in to see her. She laughed to herself as she saw him trying to be inconspicuous as he checked out the other waitresses. She remembered when she first went up to their table and Austin looked at her uniform and blushed.

In the supply closet she climbed on one of the counters trying to reach a new box of wet naps. She had heard one of the line cooks mention that they were running low. The problem was that every time she reached her arms up to get them she could feel her shirt rise another inch. She heard the door close quickly and started to fall off the counter in surprise. Just then a strong pair of hands encircled her waist and caught her before she hit the ground. She looked up into Troy Addison's eyes.

"I couldn't have my favorite waitress cracking her skull on the ground now could I?" he teased, his hands still on her waist.

Stacey flushed self consciously and she realized her bra was peeking out of the bottom of her shirt. She was embarrassed that she kept on looking like such a klutz in front of Troy.

"Let's just say I'm not the most graceful when it comes to heights…or rib sauce I guess" she explained with a laugh. Troy dropped his hands and Stacey pulled her shirt down. She glanced at the door and saw Kelly, one of the waitresses looking through the window in surprise.

"So which of those guys at that table is your boyfriend?" asked Troy.

Stacey felt herself flush again. "None of them. I used to kind of date one but that was ages ago. I actually don't have a boyfriend."

"You've got to be kidding me! I would think a hot girl like you would have your pick of any guy you wanted." Expressed Troy.

Stacey grinned. "Thanks, but that is hardly the case. I'm kind of done with the dating thing I think. I just want to have fun. You know? Not get tied down to anyone in particular. I mean I'm going away to school next year and I don't want to have a boyfriend."

She breathed a sigh of relief as Troy's expression changed from concern to a grin. She knew she said the right answers. She didn't want him to think she'd be breaking the rules and parading a boyfriend around here. She gave Troy a wink as she made her way back to the floor to wait on more tables.

From across the room Kelly's eyes narrowed as she saw Troy eye Stacey as she made her way from table to table. She caught up to Stacey and steered her into a quieter corner of the restaurant. "Stacey, I just want to kind of warn you. Be careful around Troy ok? He's kind of looking at you funny and I have-" Stacey quickly cut her off. "What the hell are you talking about? I've known Mr. Addison forever! I used to baby-sit his kids for God's sake. He's a great guy and my boss! I'd be broke if he never gave me this job. He's just friendly. It's nice to actually have an older guy's opinion!" She stormed off to the kitchen to pick up an order. In the kitchen she briefly told Troy a version of the conversation she and Kelly had just had. As Stacey carried an order out to her table, Troy thought to himself, _I thought I might have too many waitresses on staff. Looks like getting rid of one shouldn't be a problem. _Troy's eyes narrowed as he looked at Kelly. _I know just the waitress to let go too…_


	14. Chapter 14

"Do you think Abby & the rest of them beat us here Kristy?" asked Cary as he scanned the crowd at Pizza Express. He looked over at Kristy and noticed her fidgeting with her hair and shirt. "You ok there shorty?"

"I'm fine." Snapped Kristy. She couldn't believe that she had actually gone out on a date looking so slobby. She sighed inwardly as she watched Shannon breeze in confidently through the doors laughing with Price.

"I am having such a good time!" confided Shannon to Kristy as Cary and Price began an in depth talk of the game. "Price is such a great guy; he really treats me like a lady you know?"

Just then the hostess led the group to a bunch of tables near the back of the restaurant. As they walked towards their table Kristy couldn't help notice the way the other girls in the restaurant were dressed. Even Abby had begun to take more time in getting ready. Although, she wasn't as flashy as Stacey, or unique like Claudia she definitely knew how to play up her features. She watched as Abby, Ross and Claudia walked in and made their way back to the tables.

"You will never guess who we saw in Mocha Moe's!" exclaimed Abby her cheeks flushed with excitement. "My very own sister with Trevor Sanbourne! They were listening to some weirdo play their guitar and mutter poetry or something"

"I think that's called interpretive reading Abby." Said Ross.

"Whatever, it looked like an excuse to fall asleep in a coffee house!"

"I'm starved, how many pizzas do we want?" moaned Cary rubbing his stomach as he flopped his head on Kristy's shoulder. "I may faint from hunger pains."

"and the Oscar goes to Cary Reitlin…" whispered Shannon to Abby.

"We have to wait til the rest of the crew gets here…" began Claudia. Just then AJ walked into Pizza Express and scanned the crowd. He motioned for the rest of his friends to follow him as he walked through the crowd towards Claudia.

"Looks like we all won't fit here…Claud, did you want to come sit at this group of tables right here?" said AJ looking around. "We're still within talking distance of these guys."

Claudia grabbed her purse and began walking towards the other tables. She felt her cheeks burn as Susan Taylor and Shawna Riverson glanced at her outfit then at each other. She could tell they were trying not to laugh.

"That's an interesting outfit Claudia. Are those leg warmers?" drawled Susan. Claudia pretended not to notice Shawna wiping away tears of laughter. She could hear her friends at the other table laughing about what to order. "I swear I saw someone else wearing leg warmers…hmmm who was it?"

Just then Mallory Pike came running up to the table. She wearing high waisted jeans, velour striped top and blue leg warmers. Claudia groaned as Mallory began fawning all over AJ.

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Mary Anne could hear someone knocking on her bedroom door. She placed her hand over the phone receiver and whispered "come in."

"I'm sorry Mary Anne; I didn't know you were on the phone!" Whispered Dawn.

Mary Anne winked at Dawn and held up one finger.

"I can't tell you how excited I am to visit you at U of C. I've started making a list of all the things-"

"Whoa, whoa whoa, Mary Anne. If you are ever going to attend here, you have to at LEAST call it by the correct name. It's UConn, not U of C."

Mary Anne could feel herself starting to blush with embarrassment. She couldn't believe she made such a stupid error.  
"Alex, I've gotta run, I'll call you later this week but we are definitely coming up to visit. To UConn that is. I'll see you soon! Bye!" Mary Anne hung up the phone and turned towards her sister.

"I just wanted to tell you we brought back some ice cream for you and we rented a really funny movie if you want to come watch with us?" asked Dawn.

"I'd love to!" she replied as they headed downstairs.

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"Stacey, I just wanted to tell you that you did an amazing job tonight." Said Troy as they wiped down tables. "The customers really seem to like you and I haven't had any complaints…unlike other servers."

Stacey wrinkled her nose as she refilled salt shakers. "Let me guess, Cokie?"

Troy began laughing and swatted Stacey playfully with a towel. "You really don't like her do you? Actually I had to let Kelly go tonight. She just wasn't pulling her weight."

"I hope it wasn't because of what I told you earlier tonight?" said Stacey looking horrified.

"No no no, not at all sweetie." Said Troy as he led Stacey to one of the tables. He held out a chair for her and gestured for her to sit down. "To be perfectly honest, every time she worked her cash drawer was off by a good $20.00 at least, she wasn't very friendly with the customers and I think she was serving some of her friends who weren't 21."

Stacey breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on, I can't have my favorite waitress feeling guilty can I?" teased Troy. "Is your mom coming to pick you up? Or do you need a ride? It's no trouble."

"Oh I got my Mom's car but thanks. Although I may take you up on it because she's going out of town one night I have to work so I was going to see if maybe Jill could take me? But if you're sure it's no trouble…"

"Just let me know when!" replied Troy quickly. "how long is your mom going to be out of town?"

"Not sure, not long I don't think."

They finished cleaning the tables and walked out to their cars. Stacey paused by her mom's car and looked up at Troy. "Thanks again for hiring me, I am really loving this job. If there is anything extra you need me to do just let me know!"

Troy grinned down at her and gave her shoulder a squeeze. He held the door as she got into the car then waved as she drove away.

_I'm sure I can think of quite a few "extras" you can do…_he thought as he drove off.


	15. Chapter 15

Claudia stared at the content of her closet hopelessly. _Do I have any "normal" clothes at all? _ She wondered. Just then she was startled out of her thought by her phone ringing.

"Claud, it's Stacey. What the hell happened tonight? I had a bunch of messages, one from Kristy asking if I could take her shopping tomorrow after school, one from Abby saying that Anna was out with Trevor, one from Shannon saying that she is head over heels for Price and one from Mary Anne seeing if I want to go to UConn this weekend. What the hell is going on?" rambled Stacey from her end of the phone. "Why did I hear from everyone but you?"

Claudia sighed and sat down on her bed. "Maybe I just didn't have a great night is all."

Stacey paused waiting for her best friend to continue.

"Stace? Do you think I'm weird?" asked Claudia.

"Weird how?" replied Stacey as she began getting ready for bed. "No weirder than the rest of us, although your habit of putting doritoes on your turkey sandwiches is pretty odd."

"C'mon on Stace, I'm not joking around. The way I dress, is it too weird? Am I really a weird artsy person?"

"Did something happen with AJ?" asked Stacey.

Claudia flopped backwards on her bed and squeezed her eyes shut to try to stop the tears from falling. "All of his friends looked at my outfit like I was a freak. They were making fun of it to my face. To make things worse, Mallory Pike was wearing leg warmers like mine. Shawna just had a field day with that."

"Claud, what did AJ say?"

"That's the worst part, he didn't say anything, he kissed me real quickly when he dropped me off but didn't make any plans to see me this weekend. Plus I texted him thanking him for the fun time and he never replied." Claudia began crying. "I don't want to be remembered as the freaky girl who dresses funny…"

Stacey felt her insides cave in as they always did when one of her friends was hurting.

"Listen to me Claudia Lyn, if AJ can't stick up for you or accept you for who you are then he can eat shit. As for Shawna…come on, she is such a Paris Hilton clone with the way she dresses it's not even funny. You have an amazing flair for dressing, it shows your true personality. Forget everyone else. You need to be true to yourself…"

"I suppose you're right…" muttered Claudia. Inwardly she thought _but being true to myself means I don't have a boyfriend. Maybe I can dress a bit more normal and see if AJ comes around._

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"Seriously mom, it was the best night. Price is such a great guy AND he asked me out for this weekend! He invited me over for the annual Irving family chili cook off!" exclaimed Shannon as she perched on the edge of the couch. "I really like him, he's so smart and sweet, and fun!" Shannon sighed and flopped backwards on the couch so her head was resting in her mom's lap.

Mrs. Kilbourne smiled at her daughter's happiness and smoothed her hair from her forehead. "Now Shannon, Price seems like a nice guy. I don't want having a boyfriend interfering with your activities. I noticed you received an A- on your Calculus quiz. Did you not study?"

"Mom, I studied, it was a pop quiz though. I just transposed two numbers, it was an easy mistake. Anyone could have made it."

"Shannon, easy mistakes are what the Ivy leagues look at. You should have your choice of going to any ivy league school out there. You were destined for great things. Don't let a silly little romance ruin your dreams. Boys come and go, your education is what will define you."

Shannon stood up angrily her blue eyes flashing. "Did you ever think that maybe these are YOUR dreams Mom? Maybe I don't want to go to some snotty rich-bitch Ivy League college. Maybe I want to go to a community college until I figure out what I want to be."

"No Kilbourne is going to go to a community college. Least of all you, Shannon."

"Just because you never went to college doesn't mean you have to live through me, Mom. Did you ever think maybe I want to be normal? I want to date, and go to parties and have fun? I've been a straight A student from first grade. What did that get me? Kids trying to copy off me for tests? Having to miss birthday parties to attend scholastic events? Missing my freshman homecoming dance because you wanted to tour Yale that weekend?" Shannon wiped away angry tears and clenched her fists. "Do you realize no boy has ever asked me to a dance since? All the kids at school look at me like I'm a freak. I hate what you have made me be. In fact I hate you!" With that Shannon turned and ran up the stairs to her room.

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	16. Chapter 16

"Stacey? Hey Stacey!"

Stacey looked around the crowded cafeteria wondering who was calling her. Her face fell as she saw Cokie heading towards her table.

"I just wanted to thank you for working for me the other night." Said Cokie in a syrupy sweet voice. She glanced around the table and noticed Mary Anne quietly picking at her salad. "It was so nice to be able to spend some quality time with Logan if you know what I mean."

Stacey noticed Kristy ready to butt in and tell Cokie off and quickly spoke.

"No problem Cokie. Troy was so impressed with my willingness to help out a co-worker that he's talking about making me one of the head waitresses." Stacey grinned as she watched Cokie face turn purple. "That's right Cokie, I'll be YOUR supervisor. Won't that be fun?"

Cokie hurried away from the table as Claudia, Abby, Kristy, and Stacey laughed hysterically.

"Mary Anne are you ok?" asked Abby.

"I'll be fine you guys. Honestly. I'm really excited to go see Alex this weekend." Replied Mary Anne tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Ok, if you say so." Stated Abby. She paused then looked at Claudia and Kristy. "What I want to know is what has gotten into you two?"

"What do you mean?" demanded Kristy defensively.

"Well let's see, in the 5 years I've known you guys, I don't think I've ever seen you wear a skirt to school. And I don't think I've ever seen Claudia in a plain pair of jeans."

"I took them shopping." Exclaimed Stacey. "You are looking at the new and improved Kristy Thomas. Claudia on the other hand, not sure what that's all about…"

"Come on you guys." Protested Claudia. "I just got tired of people looking at me like I dress funny." She looked down and her dark blue jeans and long sleeve black top. "I just want to fit in ok?"

"You fit in with us Claudia." Said Abby. "Maybe you shouldn't be so concerned about what others think. So many people admire the way you dress. It's different, Unique.."

"Maybe I'm tired of that…" started Claudia then flushed as she saw AJ walk up to the table.

"Afternoon ladies! How's everyone doing today?" he began. He then bent down to talk with Claudia. "Did you want to come with me over to Price's house on Saturday? His family always does this chili cook-off thing and since he's my neighbor my family has been going for as long as I can remember."

"Sounds like fun!" replied Claudia. "Call me later and let me know what time and everything."

"Will do. By the way…" He bent down to whisper in her ear. "I just wanted to tell you how amazing you look." With that he nodded to the rest of the girls and headed towards the back of the cafeteria.

"Maybe you should just let AJ get to know the real you." Said Mary Anne quietly. "He's known you most of your life, obviously he likes you how you were."

"But the new Claudia has a date for the weekend and is meeting his family." She retorted. "That would have never happened to the old Claudia."

"I still think you're making a mistake.."

"Can we just drop it? Please?"

Kristy's eyes darted back and forth among her friends. She was glad the focus was off of her. She looked behind Stacey and noticed Dawn eating lunch with Pete Black.

"Mary Anne? What's up with Dawn and Pete?"

Mary Anne smiled. "He's been over an awful lot lately. He really is a great guy you know? So considerate, and he's kind of bringing Dawn out of her funk."

Just then a whistle made Mary Anne look over her shoulder. She saw Cary Reitlin, Alan Gray, and Price Irving make their way over.

"Thomas, are those legs we are seeing?" asked Cary laughing as he watched Kristy's face turn red. "Damn girl, you're causing quite a stir these days…"

"Shut up Cary."

"Come on you know you love it. What do you say we grab a movie this weekend?"

"Sorry can't. I'm going with Abby and Mary Anne to hang out with real men. College men." She tried to ignore the questioning looks she received from both Abby and Mary Anne. She watched curiously as Cary's face fell.

"ok, well some other time…"

"Since when are you going to UConn?" asked Stacey looking confused.

"Since now, hey guys can I come too?"

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"She actually said that to her mom?" asked Stacey incredulously as she and Mary Anne walked home together. She knew Shannon and her mom had had some issues in their past but ever since her parents had separated three years ago, Shannon was her mom's support system.

Mary Anne nodded unhappily. "I guess her mom just thinks that she knows the answers to what Shannon's future should be. For once Shannon is actually doing what she wants, and having loads of fun and her mom telling her Price was a silly crush just made her snap."

"Shit, that really sucks. I mean I always thought Shannon needed to let her hair down more often but I never realized what a hold her mom had on her."

Mary Anne proceeded to fill Stacey in on the rest of the story how Shannon had called her dad asking if she could move in with him for the rest of the school year.

The girls walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Mary Anne looked sideways at Stacey. "Stace? What is the reason Kristy wanted you to take her shopping? Do you think it's because of Cary?"

Stacey stopped for a moment and adjusted her schoolbag. "Well she told me she was tired of being known as one of the guys. She wanted to be more girly. Personally, I think she looks great now."

"Yes but, she looked great before too." Mary Anne paused for a moment trying to collect her thoughts. "I just worry that both Kristy and Claudia are changing who they are to please a guy."

Stacey stopped and faced Mary Anne. "And you can honestly say YOU'VE never done that?" Mary Anne flushed. "well, um no, I mean Logan and I have been so boring on and off for so long I couldn't change if I wanted to."

"Mary Anne!" exclaimed Stacey. "Did you or did you not do a body shot off of Alex? Did you or did you not agree to go see him this weekend which means lying to your dad and Sharon? Did you or did you not borrow my black tank top to wear this weekend because nothing you had would 'fit in' at a college party?" Stacey put her hands on her hips and grinned as she watched Mary Anne squirm.

"ok, ok…you got me there. I just worry that's all."

Stacey linked her arm through Mary Anne's as they walked home.


	17. Chapter 17

Mary Anne stared in awe at the dozens of students milling about the lush green campus. She felt her stomach flutter in excitement at the thought of attending college at UConn in the fall.

"and over there is where people take naps between classes or play Frisbee or eat lunch when the weather is nice." said Alex pointing to a huge section of grass. Mary Anne could see several students using their backpacks as pillows as they rested in the warm glow of the sun. Several picnic tables and benches were scatter throughout making it a perfect place to meet a friend for lunch.

She grabbed Alex's hand and turned him towards her. She couldn't help but notice how good-looking he was. He was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a t shirt but it was his lopsided playful smile that drew her in.

"You are the best tour guide I've ever had!" she babbled happily. "The new English building is gorgeous! The Rec center is perfect for working out and the cafeteria food actually looks good! Now if only I could decide on a major…"

"Mary Anne…" chided Alex looking into her worried brown eyes. "You will change your major 5 thousand times before deciding on what you want to graduate with. You have to take so many bullshit classes the first 2 years anyway. You don't really start taking classes in your major until Junior year or so. Now, how 'bout a kiss for your gracious tour guide?"

Mary Anne stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his neck drawing him into a sweet warm kiss.

"Get a room for God's sake!" yelled Abby as she, Kristy and Toby caught us to them.

"Come on you guys, let's head back so we can grab some dinner then get ready for the party.' proposed Toby. He glanced over and saw Kristy gazing intently at a guy wearing a backwards hat sitting on the lawn. "I think Kristy here has found her victim!"

:Shut up, I was just looking at the scenery" she retorted feeling her cheeks redden.

"You're in luck that's my buddy Fisher. He'll be at the party tonight. Tell you what I'll introduce you!" With that Toby picked up Kristy and swung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes laughing as she beat his back with her fists in protest.

"Abby! Alex! Mary Anne! Do something!" she wailed as Toby began running over to his friend. The other three chased after them laughing hysterically.

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"Mom, this is Shannon, Shannon this is my Mom, Debbie." said Price gesturing to each female.

"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Irving, thank you for inviting me over." said Shannon shyly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Shannon, but please call me Debbie." Said Debbie Irving with a smile. "I swear the way Price has been talking about you, I was ready to roll out the red carpet for your arrival."

"MOM! God, really…" exclaimed Price hiding his face in his hands. Debbie laughed and threaded her arm through Shannon's and led her through the hall into the living room. Shannon tried to take a deep breath to calm herself knowing that she was about to meet the rest of the Irving family and assorted friends. She tried to push the awful conversation she had with her mother right before she left the house out of her head. She just wished her mother could be more supportive of her decisions. It seemed that ever since her parents separated, her mom felt compelled to overload Shannon with added pressures. Her thoughts escaped quickly as she realized they were in the living room where 20 or so people had gathered. She began smiling and laughing as she was introduced to one person after another. She glanced at Price who was standing with two of his aunts. He was grinning widely and gave her a wink, clearly proud of how well she blended in with his family. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see AJ and Claudia. He brought them into the kitchen to get sodas.

"Looks like your woman is schmoozing with the family eh bro?" teased AJ. Claudia grinned as she watched Price flush in embarrassment.

"What can I say? They adore her!" he responded. "Why wouldn't they? She's gorgeous, smart, friendly and sociable." AJ raised his eyebrows. "Dude, I was just messin' with ya. Chill alright? She seems like a great girl, but Claudia here has a much better ass." Claudia turned and smacked AJ in the arm.

"Is that the only thing you like about me? My hot ass?" said Claudia with a grin. She turned around posing flirtatiously. AJ grabbed her and kissed the top of her head. He whispered in her ear, "you know there is a lot I like about you Claud. Not just your hot ass."

Claudia gave him a quick smile and began to lead the boys back to the living room where Shannon was still being mobbed by the Irving family. Shannon looked up and waved at Claudia and AJ and began walking towards them. She stopped halfway as she caught sight of Claudia's outfit. Claudia was wearing a pair of khaki colored Capri pants with a sleeveless solid green shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. Shannon thought her friend looked pretty but very unlike herself. _She is dressed so un-original today. I wonder if she didn't have time to put together an outfit or something_ she thought to herself. Shannon glanced down at her brightly patterned shiny top and her pair of jeans. She had worn a pair of high heeled black sandals which brought out the colors in her top. She chuckled as she realized that she was dressed more wildly then Claudia. The two couples moved outside to the patio to talk and watch the kids swimming in the Irving's pool. Shannon shivered and felt Price wrap his arms around her. He kissed her ear and asked her if she was cold. "I'm not cold, I just can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be."

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"Austin, it's just that I've been working so much and trying to keep my grades up. I'm not dating anyone else; I don't have time really to date anyone seriously. I'd like for us to hang out though. Maybe grab a movie? Play putt putt, go to parties together…" Stacey fiddled with her bedspread as she waited for Austin to respond. She could hear him breathing on the other end of the phone.

"Austin? hello?"

"I'm here. Look Stacey, I like you. You know that, I just feel like I'm always second rate with you. I mean I have school and a job too yet I find time to be with the people who matter." replied Austin with a sigh.

Stacey felt her eyes well up with tears. "Austin, you do matter to me. When we were together it was such a good time. Maybe the timing wasn't right or whatever. I don't want you to ever think you are second rate. I'd really like to do something with you. Maybe we could go see Anna's concert this Tuesday?"

Austin groaned and said, "oh God…do we have to? Our first real date in a year and you want me to fall asleep?"

Stacey giggled as she pictured the two of them passed out snoring in the middle of the concert. "come on silly, I have to go because she's my friend. I figure I may as well take you down with me."

Austin laughed thinking of how good it was to be talking with Stacey again. "Stace, if you're just sitting around at home tonight, why don't we rent some movies or something? Mom & Dad have friends over so we can have the basement all to ourselves. I'll even rent a chick flick." He heard a click and looked at his phone questioningly.

"Austin? That's my other line, I gotta go. But movies sound fun. 7:30ish? Bye!"

Stacey clicked over to her second line. "Stacey? It's Troy Addison here. I kind of need you to come down to the restaurant. I'll need you to wear the smaller tank top, and smaller shorts. Plus make sure your hair & makeup are perfect."

"What's going on Troy? Did someone call in?"

"No no no, sweetie, nothing like that. I need to start getting photos taken for the Ribs-n-More waitress calendar. Most of the other girls are working so I want to do some test shots with you so we can get the lighting and everything ready. That way I can just take pictures of them one after another because we'll have worked out all the kinks."

Stacey hesitated for a minute. It was only 4. She'd have plenty of time to help Troy and still make it over to Austin's. "Ok Troy, I'll be there as soon as I can. I have to leave at 7 though. Remember that old boyfriend I was telling you about? We're going to try and work things out so I need to be at his house by 7:30. See you soon!" Stacey hung up the phone and ran into the bathroom to begin getting ready.

Troy hung up the phone and narrowed his eyes. _Date with an old boyfriend eh? Why do I have a sneaky suspicion you won't be there tonight? _


	18. Chapter 18

"Mary Anne? Can I get you another beer?" asked Alex looking concerned.

Mary Anne shook her head then glanced around before pulling her tank top back up. She grinned as she noticed Alex trying to contain his laughter.

"Come on Alex" she protested hitting him on the arm. "I just feel a little self conscious in Stacey's top."

"I think you look amazing." as he leaned down to give her a kiss.

"Besides, that top covers up a hell of a lot more than that green one you wore to my party" chimed in Abby as she walked up behind them. Mary Anne tried to give Abby a mean look but found herself laughing instead. She couldn't believe what a good day she had so far on campus with Alex. The party he & Toby were having was shaping up to be a great time as well. She looked over at her friends and shook her head in amazement. In middle school, Kristy & Abby had been jocks who couldn't care less about what they looked like. Abby was wearing a pair of tight fighting jeans and a sparkly red tank top. Her hair had been coaxed into loose curls that fell halfway down her back. She was defiantly drawing admiring glances from quite a few guys in the apartment. She was no where near Kristy's league though. Kristy had outdone herself in her outfit that evening. She was wearing a tight fitting pair of jeans and a turquoise strapless top that was practically non-existent. The top would have been better suited as a bikini top in Mary Anne's opinion, but she had to admit, with Kristy's well-toned abs, she did look hot in that shirt. She also had put effort into her make-up and really played up her features. She was wearing her hair in two braids which gave her a naughty girl appearance. Mary Anne wasn't surprised to see guys lining up to talk to her.

"I'm not going to lie Abby. It's a little difficult for me to sit here and watch these guys drooling all over my little cousin and her friends." Said Toby. "I may have to crush some skulls tonight."

"Oh stop with your pseudo-macho talk Toby." Said Abby as she reached up to tousle his hair. "Let's play quarters or something, come on!"

Mary Anne & Alex laughed as they watched several guys pushing each other out of the way as they tried to grab the remaining few chairs at the table with Toby, Kristy & Abby. They noticed Kristy's face light up as Fisher sat down next to her.

"Look's like we have a love connection." sang Mary Anne gleefully.

"Or a one nighter…" retorted Alex grinning.

"Is that what you think Alex?" spat Mary Anne. "That you could bring some high school girls up here to bang and then brag to your friends about?" She shook herself free from his arms and pushed her way through the crowd to the balcony. She turned her back to the door wall as she heard it open. She felt arms encircle her and turn her around. Alex cupped his hand under her chin and looked into her eyes. "Mary Anne, I made a stupid comment in there, and I'm sorry. You don't know how happy I am to be able to spend time with you. I told you at Anna & Abby's the other week that I want to get to know everything about you. If I just wanted to screw you and never call why would I invite you up here? It would have made more sense for me to do it at the party right? I'm not in any hurry Mary Anne. I know you and Logan just broke up. Things with us are just going to fall into place."

Mary Anne brushed the tears out of her eyes as she gave Alex a hug. "I'm sorry Alex, I've always been way too sensitive. I'm really happy to be here with you. I guess I've just dated some jerks in between when Logan & I would break up and they tended to be after only one thing. I'm sorry." She stood on her toes to give Alex a long meaningful kiss. "What do you say we go kick their asses in quarters?"

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"So did you like the movie Dawn?" asked Pete as they strolled through downtown Stonybrook. He tried to listen to her response but found himself distracted with how beautiful she looked. _Dammit, do I hold her hand? Put my arm around her? Offer her my coat?_

"Uh Dawn are you cold? Did you want to borrow my coat?" he asked.

Dawn looked at him questioningly. "Pete, are you feeling alright? You didn't bring a coat! Besides, it's warm outside tonight." She paused and waited for Pete to respond. The next thing she knew, he had grabbed her by her elbow and led her to a nearby bench to sit down.

"Dawn, I know we've only been hanging out again for a few weeks but…would you go to Prom with me?" Pete let out the breath he had been holding in as Dawn kissed him quickly on the cheek.

"Thank you for asking me, I'd like that a lot."

Pete leaned in to give her a kiss and was shocked as she jumped up nearly causing him to face plant into the bench. His expression grew concerned as he saw her wipe away tears.

She turned to look at him. "I'm sorry Pete; I'm just not ready for that."

Pete held out his hand to her and waited until she lightly placed her hand in hers. "Dawn, when it comes to you, I have all the time in the world…"


	19. Chapter 19

After eating an early dinner the 2 couples decided to cool off in the pool. AJ had proposed the idea of a chicken fight as the two girls walked outside.

"This isn't going to be Girls Gone Wild AJ." Retorted Claudia as she shook her hair loose from her ponytail. AJ grinned as Claudia removed her t-shirt revealing a pretty white bikini.

"Hey a guy can only dream right?"

Shannon glanced around nervously. She was jealous that Claudia had no inhibitions about stripping down to her bikini in front of the guys. "Oh well, here goes nothing…"she muttered. She quickly removed her t-shirt and shorts revealing a metallic pink bikini. She wished she had brought her less-revealing bikini but she had been in a hurry when she left the house. Her cheeks flushed as she saw price get out of the pool and let a wolf whistle out.

He ran over to Shannon and against her protests picked her up and jumped in the water with her. "Lets chicken fight."

"Prepare to take a drink, Kishi!"

"You first Blondie!"

Price and AJ laughed as the two girls began smack talking from opposite ends of the pool. Shannon slowly climbed onto Price's shoulders as he held her hands to keep her in place. Across the pool they laughed as Claudia continued to slip as she tried to position herself on AJ's shoulders. As the guys moved closer to each other, the two girls began shrieking as they tried to knock each other off the shoulders into the water. Just then Shannon gave Claudia a tug that sent her sideways off of AJ's shoulders. Just before she toppled off, she grabbed Shannon's wrist and pulled her in as well. The two girls resurfaced, laughing and coughing as the guys began hoisting them up for round 2.

As the night air turned cooler, Price light a bonfire in the backyard. The group proceeded to toast marshmallows and make smores while talking and gossiping. AJ stood up and beckoned for Claudia to come with him. "We're going to take a walk, be back in a little bit." Said AJ. Price patted his lap and motioned for Shannon to come sit on his lap. She got up and sat sideways on his lap. He reached his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. Shannon shivered in anticipation as the kiss grew deeper. Price led her over to a hammock near the bonfire and helped her in. They lay there side by side holding hands. Soon his kisses became more urgent and he rolled on top of her kissing her frantically as his hands began reaching under her bikini top. Shannon responded eagerly, running her hands underneath his shirt and pulling him closer. Just then Price rolled off her and stopped breathing heavy.

"What's the matter Price?" asked Shannon, she wondered what she did wrong.

"Shannon, look. It's just that. I like you. A lot." Said Price as he sat up and looked into her eyes. "I don't want this..us… you know to be just one of those things."

Shannon nodded looking up at him. "Price, if I can actually tell you a secret. I've never been with anyone before. I'm still a vir..a virgin."

Price leaned down and kissed her deeply. "Then our first time will definitely be special, not on a hammock being eaten alive by mosquitos." Just then they were interrupted by AJ & Claudia coming back. "Yo, Irving, what'd she say?" asked AJ. "Claudia said yes!"

Shannon looked up at Price confused. "What is he talking about?" Price grinned as he gave her his crooked smile. "Oh yeah…Shannon Kilbourne, would you go to Prom with me?" Shannon squealed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

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"Stacey? Honey? Have you ever modeled before? You look nervous…" asked Troy.

Stacey shivered as she looked at the makeshift studio in the back office of the restaurant. It was completely separate from the restaurant, and only accessible through a door in the alley.

"I have modeled but just for a runway show at Bellair's. Plus I was a bit more covered up.." she trailed off with nervous laughter.

"Anything I can do to help you relax? Can I get you a soda or water or anything?"

"How about a shot of vodka?" replied Stacey giggling. She watched in surprise as Troy disappeared and came back and handed her a Diet Coke. She took a drink and realized he had added vodka to it. He gave her a wink and she smiled in response. She took another large gulp of her drink wincing a little as it burned down her throat. She sat there talking with Troy and was relaxed by the time the photographer arrived. She stood up shaking her head to try and clear the fuzziness and found herself with the hiccups. _Control yourself Mcgill, 3 drinks are just enough to calm you, not make you into an idiot._

"Whenever you are ready Stacey…" Stacey stood up and removed her cover-up. She watched as both Troy and Esteban, the photographer smiled appreciatively. Troy went over to the stereo and put on some dance music. "Ok Stacey just relax and have fun."

Stacey took a huge breath as she tried to forget how short her shorts were and how her shirt kept rising higher and higher.

After an hour of random shots, Esteban received an emergency call. He offered to reschedule but Troy assured him that he could finish up the pictures. He poured Stacey another drink as she reapplied her make-up.

"Ok, Stacey, I didn't want to tell you this but there is going to be a contest of the Hottest Ribs-n-More waitress. The winner receives a $10,000 prize. I know that would really help you out your first year at college. Don't tell the other girls, but I'm rooting for you. The thing is, we need to have your picture be the absolute hottest one out there!"

Stacey looked up at him the thought of $10,000 swimming throughout her thoughts. "I have some ideas Troy" she said flirtatiously. She stumbled a little bit surprised at how hard the alcohol was hitting her. She pulled her shirt up as high as she could while still making sure the restaurant logo was displayed. She walked over to a chaise lounge that had been set up and arranged herself on it. She tried to position her legs the best she could to emphasize their length. She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder and pouted seductively for the camera. Troy grinned and said "That's it Stacey, keep that up! You have this contest in the bag! Just don't tell the other girls that I was helping you out ok? They'll get mad…" Stacey laughed and being dancing erotically to the music playing. She had no inhibitions as she danced in front of Troy teasing him to take more pictures. The only thing keeping her from releasing herself completely was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was supposed to be somewhere. She took another swig of her drink and continued to pose in whatever way Troy wanted her to. After all, he was her ticket to financial security.

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Austin glanced at the clock. 8:30. Stacey was an hour late. He had tried calling her and texting her but she hadn't responded. He changed into shorts and a t-shirt and began working out with his punching bag. With every kick and punch he landed he tried to release some of his pain. His thoughts traveled back to when he and Stacey had begun seriously dating their Junior year. They had always flirted at parties but it seemed whenever one of them was available, the other was dating someone else. Finally Junior Year at Erica Blumburg's party they had found themselves laughing as Claudia and Alan had a steamy makeout session in the Blumburg's laundry room. One thing led to another and soon they were heating up the backseat of his car. Nothing major had happened, but he realized how much he had always liked her. They had almost a full year together, which is practically a lifetime in high school years. She was not only beautiful but funny, outgoing and genuinely caring about those around her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her at Prom last year but panicked at the last minute, afraid that she might not feel the same way. He paused his workout and mopped the sweat from his face. He thought of how he leaned in to tell her then chickened out and said that he wanted to be her first. _What a cheesy ass thing to say…_ Austin groaned as he realized that was the beginning to the end. He never told her how he felt; he just kept regretting that he never told her.


	20. Chapter 20

"Here goes nothing.." muttered Dawn under her breath as she entered the spacious living room to talk to her mother. She cleared her throat nervously. "um, Mom?"

Sharon Spier looked up in surprise to see her daughter standing before her clutching a fashion magazine. "What is it hon?" she answered softly patting the seat beside her on the sofa.

Dawn hesitated for a moment then sat down next to her mom. "You see mom, last night, Pete, well he asked me to go to the Prom with him and I said yes."

Sharon's eyes filled with tears as she reached out to give Dawn a hug. She sat there stroking Dawn's hair as she murmured "Pete's a wonderful boy Dawn, I'm sure you will have a lovely time."

"I thought maybe we could look in this magazine for some dresses? Unless you have other things to do…"

Sharon smiled and replied, "Other things to do? My little girl wants to pick out prom dresses and she thinks I have other things to do? Let's take a look at this magazine. Now I would think an ocean blue would bring out your eyes…"

Dawn snuggled in next to her mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for everything Mom."

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"Ooooh, my head…" groaned Mary Anne. She tried to lift it off the pillow and then gasped as she realized she wasn't in her own bed. She felt someone stir next to her and instinctvly clenched the covers to her body. _Where the hell am I and who the hell is here with me?_

"Mary Anne?" asked a male voice.

_Oh my God, he knows my name. Okay, don't panic. I'm going to sneak out of here and run out the door._ She cautiously crept out from under the covers being careful not to disturb the bed. As she crept towards the door the voice called out again.

"Mary Anne? If you're going to head out in the living room you probably are going to want to put some clothes on. Some people crashed out there after the party. Although seeing you naked is a great way to wake anyone up!"

Mary Anne looked down and gasped as she realized she was clad only in a skimpy pair of boy shorts. She looked at the bed and saw Alex leaning on his arm grinning at her. She quickly picked a T-shirt up off the floor and put it on then dashed back into the bed pulling the covers up to her chin. She quickly tried to think back to the night. They had been playing drinking games and she remembered feeling really flirty and drunk. She was completely blacking out what happened once she and Alex went into his room. She remembered making out, and him taking off her shirt… She didn't recall having sex with him, then again, she didn't recall taking off her pants either.

"Alex, I was kind of drunk last night. Did we…um did you and I? um…"

"No Mary Anne, we didn't have sex. You were a wild woman and kept calling me a prude because I wouldn't. I figured you were way too drunk to be making any decisions like that. I was pretty drunk too. I want the first time we have sex to be meaningful for both of us, not a sloppy free for all after we've drank too much."

Mary Anne's eyes filled with tears as she felt her heart race with admiration for Alex. She and Logan had lost their virginity to each other their Sophmore year. She had never been with anyone other than Logan. Mary Anne sat up and straddled Alex before kissing him. She began removing the T-shirt as she said, "I think we're both sober now…"

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"So Shanny, what do you say you pick me up at noon, we can grab some lunch then hit the mall. I want to make sure we get the best pick of prom dresses." Stated Claudia through the phone as she tried to ease a pair of jeans over her hips.

"Wait a minute, you're actually going to BUY a dress off the rack? You've always made your formal dresses in the past Claud. I would love for you to help me pick out a dress but we can hit the fabric store after so you can start putting together your dress." Replied Shannon as she rummaged through her closet trying to find a pair of comfortable sandals.

Claudia sighed. "Shannon, I don't have time to make a dress, I need to pull up my grades. Plus, I don't want to be the original one there, I want to be the hottest one there. Prom Queen is never going to be the girl who made her dress out of garbage bags and tin foil."

"Is that what this is about? You think AJ will be King and you don't want to embarrass him by being an original Queen?" asked Shannon astonished.

"Look, Shannon, Pick me up at noon ok? I gotta get ready." With that Claudia hung up the phone. She casually glanced at the pictures on her bulletin board. She noticed last years Prom picture. Alan was there looking rather normal in a tux. She had designed a dress in her fashion class made strictly of red and blue bandanas. The dress was a halter and came right below her knee. Her fashion teacher had sent pictures of it to several designer friends she knew. She had received tons of compliments on it however she remember all the people staring and pointing. _I can't have people laughing at AJ's girlfriend like that. _

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Stacey stirred as the morning light hit her in the eyes. _Why didn't I put my shade down before going to bed?_ She blinked a few times and noticed her cell phone, a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin on her coffee table. "Why am I sleeping on the couch?" she wondered. She sat up quickly and winced as she felt hammers pounding inside her head. She took two aspirin and drank some water. She thought back to last night. She had been posing for pictures and the photographer had to leave so Troy was taking pictures. Her cheeks flushed as she remembered how erotic some of those pictures were. She gasped, "Oh my Lord, Troy must think I'm the biggest slut." She remembered the two of them sitting there talking as if they had known each other forever. She had asked him to call her a cab but he had decided to drive her home instead. She closed her eyes as she remembered him trying to help her inside quietly so they didn't wake her mom. She vaguely recalled him helping her to the couch and then tucking the covers in around her. He had kissed her on her forehead but she had grabbed him and pulled him down for a real kiss. He didn't respond right away but with her urging he began kissing her back. It might have turned to more had her cell phone not rang at that moment. Her friends always told her that she was dangerously flirty when drunk.

"I guess I'll just act like nothing happened next time I'm at work" she muttered. She got up and crept up to the shower. She could feel her head clearing somewhat in the shower and was able to respond back when her mother greeted her. As she wrapped her hair in a towel and stepped out of the bathroom she ran into her mom in the hallway.

"Well Stacey?" Asked Mrs. McGill smiling. "Aren't you going to tell me?"

Stacey felt her face drain of all color. She felt her throat go dry as she croaked "tell you what mom?"

"How things went with Austin of course. Did you stir up the old flame?"

Stacey sank to the ground as she felt her insides go cold. "Oh my God…" she whimpered. "Austin! I forgot about Austin…"


	21. Chapter 21

-1"Well Stace? What do you think?" asked Claudia nervously as she watched her friend look at her from every angle. Stacey gave Claudia a worried expression as she circled around once again. "You hate it don't you?"

Stacey shook her head vehemently. "Claud, it's not that I hate it, I just think it's so… different than what I'd picture you in for Prom." Claudia had chosen a hot pink strapless iridescent dress that just touched the floor. As she twirled around the dress flashed a softer pink color throughout the A-line skirt. Stacey couldn't deny that her friend looked gorgeous in the vibrant colored dress however she couldn't believe how ordinary the style was. She thought back to last year when Claudia was frantically putting the finishing touches on her hand sewn dress. The dress had been the hit of the Prom, people had been talking about for weeks.

"Look Stacey," began Claudia as she began changing back into her jeans and T-shirt. "I'm just at a point in my life where I just want to blend in with everyone else. I remember in grade school whenever we would study World War II the whole Pearl Harbor incident? Did you think I didn't notice everyone glancing at me out of the corner of their eyes? As if I personally was responsible for the bombings? Jesus, I've never even been to Japan. Then when my grades were shitty, all I heard was how I didn't apply myself, Janine is smart Claudia, you should get good grades too. Then when I went out with Brantley Erickson when I was a Freshman and he was a junior and he told everyone that I w as a sure thing? All because I wouldn't let him feel me up in the movies? Now do you think I don't notice how Susan and Shawna and that whole group stares at me like I'm some sort of frickin' bag lady?"

Stacey quickly interrupted. "Claudia, who cares what those catty bitches think?"

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT"S LIKE STACEY!" screamed Claudia as she wiped tears of frustration from her eyes. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Look, for the first time, I really am head over heels for a guy. When I'm around AJ I feel like I am the luckiest girl in the world. I never felt this way with any other boyfriend. Everybody changes a little bit when they are in a relationship, I am just changing my clothes. I just want to dress like everyone else."

Stacey grabbed Claudia and gave her a big hug. "I'm so sorry Claudia, I never knew you felt that way. I was always so jealous of you because you were always so unique and interesting, everyone always noticed you. I felt like such a carbon copy." She grabbed a tissue and began dabbing at her eyes. She looked at Claudia's tear streaked face and began to giggle. "Oh my God Claud, we sound like we are guests on the Dr. Phil Show." Claudia began to laugh as the two of them sank to the floor dissolving in laughter.

Stacey wiped her eyes then looked seriously at Claudia. "I need to tell you something, but you have to SWEAR that you will never tell anyone." She waited for Claudia to nod in agreement. "Ok, something happened last night, I kind of got drunk and ended up making out with Troy."

"Oh my God Stacey! He took advantage of you! I thought something wasn't right about him.."

"No, no, no. He didn't take advantage of me! I was the one who was all over him. I made such an ass of myself and then threw myself at him." Stacey buried her face in her hands. "To make matters even worse, I totally stood up Austin. He has to hate me now. I just don't know what to do."

Claudia wrapped her arms around Stacey as her friend cried on her shoulder. "Ok, Stace, I may not be Dr. Phil but I have an idea. Why don't you just apologize to Austin and give him a good reason why you weren't there. Then set up a definite time to go out. You know like a planned event. Like a concert or play or something…"

"That's it! I'll have him go to Anna's concert with me!" exclaimed Stacey her blue eyes shining with excitement. "Claudia you're a genius!"

"Anastasia, you know I hate that word!" replied Claudia grinning.

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"So, um, Mary Anne, how was your visit with Alex?" asked Dawn as she shyly hesitated at her stepsister's doorway.

Mary Anne rolled over on her bed and motioned for Dawn to come in. She sat up and patted the seat beside her. "It was amazing. I really care about him. I mean I know it's been a short time since we started hanging out but I feel like I've known him forever. Is that weird?"

"I don't think so.' Said Dawn in reply. "I think some people just have that connection."

"Speaking of connection. I heard you are going to Prom with Pete?" exclaimed Mary Anne. "Sharon showed me the picture of the dress you want to get. It's gorgeous!"

Dawn looked at Mary Anne her eyes shining. "Do you really like it? I love the color and Mom said it would match my eyes. I am so grateful Pete asked me. I think it's going to be a great time."

"I do too. So far you, me, Claudia, and Shannon are going. I think Abby and Anna are going too. We just need Stacey and Kristy to decide on dates." Mary Anne leaned back on her bed. "Can you keep a secret Dawn? Alex and I sorta, um, well we had sex."

She sat up quickly as she saw Dawn stiffen up. "Dawn? what's wrong?"

"Did he force you Mary Anne? Why didn't someone help you?" Asked Dawn as she began pacing the room.

"Dawn, it wasn't like that. I wanted to…."

"Why didn't anyone help? Why did that have to happen?" cried Dawn.

Mary Anne jumped up and threw her arms around Dawn. "Dawn, it's ok, I wanted to. Its ok! What is wrong honey? Talk to me!"

Dawn shook her head and glanced at Mary Anne's concerned face. Without saying a word she turned and ran out of the room.


	22. Chapter 22

"Come on Thomas, this isn't a life or death decision

"Come on Thomas, this isn't a life or death decision. How hard can ordering ice cream be? You should probably get 2 scoops though since I know what a pig you are with ice cream." Said Cary with a grin.

"I have half a mind to gat a huge waffle cone and stick it up your ass." Replied Kristy as she scanned the menu.

They completed their order and began walking down Main St.

"Wanna try my Brain-freeze Brownie blast?" asked Cary as he held a spoonful out to Kristy. He laughed as Kristy tried to swallow the huge mouthful of ice cream. "Ok as long as your mouth is full, I'm going to ask you a question. What do you say we go to prom together?"

Kristy stopped walking and looked at Cary with her lips rimmed in chocolate. She quickly nodded as he picked her up and swung her around in a circle.

"Wow Cary you caught me off guard there. I think we'll have a great time" she replied as she tried to wipe the chocolate off her face.

"Well I figured we'd just go on the limo bus with Shannon & Price, Claudia & AJ, Ross & Abby-"

Kristy quickly cut him off. "Ross asked Abby?" she asked incredulously. "she never mentioned it!"

"I guess he just asked her, he called me on my way over to meet you. Let's see, Mary Anne and her college thing are riding with us, plus some random people. It's a huge bus."

"Hmmm…" thought Kristy. "If we could get Pete & Dawn to ride with us, and Stacey and someone then it'd be like the whole-"

"The whole baby-sitters club was onboard?" finished Cary. He began jumping around and skipping in circles, playfully tugging Kristy's hair, "Whee! The BSC goes to Prom! It's like a title of a book!"

Kristy laughed as she grabbed Cary's hat and ran down the street with it as he chased her.

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"So Austin, I am so, so so so so sorry about the other night. I ended up not feeling well and going to bed and just falling asleep." Stacey bit her lip as she waited for Austin's reply.

"Look Stacey, I appreciate you calling but I gotta go. I have to run to the store for my mom. See you!" Austin sighed as he looked down at his cell phone. He started to close it when he heard Stacey yelling.

"Austin! Don't hang up. I want to make it up to you! I'd like to take you out on Tuesday. MY treat. I'll even borrow my mom's car and I'll pick you up!"

Austin grinned in spite of himself. "You'll pick me up? No thank you Stace, I've been in the car with you. I get carsick."

"Har har, very funny Austin." Said Stacey with a grin. "so are we on? I won't take no for an answer…"

"ok, ok, you win." He laughed. "Where are we going?"

"Well I thought we'd go see Anna's show and then-"

Austin quickly interrupted,"You're taking me to a classical music concert? You call that fun? I always knew you wanted revenge on me for cheating off of you in Mr Zizmore's class in 8th grade. Let me guess, afterwards we'll go eat salads and drink tea?"

Stacey laughed as she listened to Austin continue to tease her.

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Shannon felt her good mood vanish as her mother greeted her at the door.

"Shannon, I'd like to talk to you." began Mrs. Kilbourne.

"Save it Mom." Retorted Shannon. "I'm staying at Dad's this weekend. Tell Maria and Tiffany I'll call them later."

"Young lady, I did not raise you girls to talk to me that way!"

"That's right mom!" cried Shannon. "You didn't raise us at all! You were never there for us when we were growing up. You drove dad out of the house, Maria & Tiffany came to ME with all their problems, in fact the only time you care about any of us is when it has to do with us wanting to enjoy life! You don't know anything about my life! You don't understand my feelings, or my hopes and dreams. You don't even know what it's like to love anyone but yourself!"

Mrs. Kilbourne slowly sank down into a nearby couch. She sadly looked up at Shannon and whispered, "Sweetheart, I have loved deeper than anyone has ever loved. When you were born, I experienced that love again. Every time I see you and your sisters happy, I feel it. Please sit down, it's time I told you a story."

As Shannon cautiously sat down next to her mother, Mrs. Kilbourne began fiddling with a necklace buried under her shirt.

"Honey, I was going to wait to tell you this story but I think it's imperative that you hear it now. When I was 16, I was at the top of my class academically, spoiled rotten by my parents, and was the envy of every girl in school. One night some friends and I were at a beach party and I met a boy…" she paused as her eyes lit up at the memory. "His name was Eric Shoreson and he lived a few towns over. He was 18, very handsome, smart, and had such amazing goals in life. We instantly clicked and spent every possibly second together. I would want to cry anytime we weren't together. Every night I got down on my knees and thanked God for bringing Eric into my life. I'll never forget my Senior prom, we danced under the stars, and held each other as if we would never let go. It was bittersweet though. It was 1990, and he was due to be shipped off to Iran to fight in the Gulf War. He had signed up to help serve his country in hopes of securing a college education. The day he left I felt like my heart would burst. I knew he would be back in 2 years and we would be married and have a houseful of kids. He gave me a locket with his picture in it that I never wanted to take off." She paused and stood up to gaze out the window. Shannon waited breathless to hear the next part of her mother's story.

"Mom? I don't get it? How does dad fit into this? Why did you and Eric break up?" She gasped when she saw her mother's grief stricken face.

"When I kissed Eric goodbye, that was the last time I ever saw him alive. Apparently soon after he arrived, his platoon was ambushed and he didn't make it out. I was 16 years old and had to say goodbye to the most perfect man that I would ever know. I know he lives on in my heart and every time I see you smile Shannon….I am reminded of him and the greatest love I ever had. "

Shannon looked up confused. "You see Shannon, after Eric died I prayed I would die just so we could be together again. I had no interest in school, my friends or college. Then I found out I was pregnant with you. I dropped out of high school and was a young teenage mother. My father introduced me to Joe Kilbourne and we married soon after. I knew that you needed a stable home, one that I couldn't give you. Your "father" knew that the marriage was one of convenience not of love which is why I turned a blind eye to his affairs. I loved Joe for the life he gave us and of course for allowing me to bring 2 more daughters into this world but I was not in love with him. How can you fall in love when your heart has been shattered?"

Shannon began pacing the room. "I don't believe this, you're lying! You've lied about your age all along! Is anything the truth? "

"Honey, with Joe's job, we couldn't broadcast that you were not his biological child. Or that he had married a "child bride". It was just easier to allow people to think I was older. But you have to understand, this is why I push you so hard. I never had the opportunities that you have been given. My life took a different path, and I am blessed everyday for you 3 girls. Can't you see I only want what's best for you? When you are a mother you will understand that the most important thing is to protect your children. I would die to protect you from ever experiencing the heartbreak that I felt when I lost Eric. That's why I have always pushed you to excel in school and activities so your heart would remain whole, not shattered as mine is."

Shannon burst into tears as she fell into her mom's arms. "I love you for trying to protect me mom, but you can't stop me from wanting to fall in love. I am so sorry that I didn't know all this time how hurt you have been. I wish you had told me sooner."

Mrs. Kilbourne stroked Shannon's hair. "I wish I did too sweetie. I guess I have to realize I can't control your heart." She sighed and rested her chin on Shannon's head. "So what do you say you invite this Price fellow over for dinner one night. I'd like to meet the boy who makes my baby's eyes shine with happiness."

"I'd like that mom. I'll go call him right now!" Shannon danced out of the room feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. "You're going to love Price mom!"

"I'm sure I will honey, I'm sure I will." She replied as she lovingly pulled out the locket she wore under her shirt.

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	23. Chapter 23

"Seriously, could this snooze fest be any longer

"Seriously, could this snooze fest be any longer?" moaned Abby.

"Shhh." Hissed Stacey, "Anna's solo is coming up." Had it not been for Austin casually resting his arm across her shoulders, she wasn't sure she could sit still much longer.

Just then Ross leaned over Abby to whisper, "How do you know when one song ends and the new one begins? I keep clapping at the wrong time."

Stacey bit her lip to keep from laughing as she thumbed through her program. So far the night had been fun. Austin picked her up and chatted with her mom for awhile and then they met Abby and Ross at the concert. _If this damn concert would end then we could leave and grab a pizza or something. _

Suddenly, Abby clutched Stacey's arm and pointed across the aisle. "I think he's getting off on this music!" Stacey, Austin and Ross quickly looked to see Trevor Sandbourne swaying rhythmically in his chair to Anna's song. Luckily, the concert ended and the applause drowned out the sound of the two couples laughing. Stacey & Austin rose from their seats to congratulate Anna and quickly said goodbye to Ross and Abby.

"I see how you deserters are." Smirked Abby. "You are released from this hell to go have fun and I have to wait around until my stupid sister greets all of her adoring fans."

"And she's taking me down with her!" piped in Ross as he waved goodbye.

Twenty minutes later, Stacey and Austin swung side by side on the swings at Stoneybrook Elementary. She couldn't get over how cute it was when he suggested playing on the playground after the concert. "I'll race you to the slide!" she yelled as she jumped off her swing. She laughed as Austin caught up to her and picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Austin!" she yelled giggling. "Put me down! All the change is falling out of my pockets!"

He gently set her down on a picnic table and sat down next to her. He gently brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes and kissed her forehead. He looked searchingly into her eyes and then gently kissed her. They pulled apart and Stacey quickly wrapped her arms around herself.

"You cold Stace?"

"Not at all, that kiss just gave me the shivers….in a good way."

She leaned in to kiss him and they wrapped their arms around each other in a passionate embrace.

Austin pulled away and took her hand as he began talking.

"Stacey, I'm not going to lie. You crushed me when we broke up. I really thought we were going to be together throughout senior year. I was so frickin' jealous when Abby & Anna's cousin was all over you at their party. I wanted to kick that guy's ass!

"Austin, I told you, Toby was barely-"Stacey stopped when she saw Austin shake his head.

"Let me finish, ok? It also helped me realize how much I wanted to be with you. Shit Stace, we've been playing the flirting game since 7th grade! It's our senior year and we're still going back and forth as to what we are. " Austin took a deep breath and continued. " I want to be with you Stacey McGill and ONLY you. I want to be the guy that the other guys are jealous of because I'm with you. I want to dance with you at our senior prom and go to graduation parties with you. I want to kiss you in the halls at school and steam up the windows of my car." Stacey giggled as she thought of how they steamed up the windows almost every weekend last year. "So what I am asking is will you be my girlfriend again? And as my girlfriend, will you go to prom with me?"

Stacey threw her arms around him and screamed "YES!" at the top of her lungs. She pulled him to her and gave him a lingering kiss.

"Now what do you say we go steam up some windows?"


	24. Chapter 24

Logan searched the cafeteria until he found who he was looking for

Logan searched the cafeteria until he found who he was looking for. He quickly hurried over to the table and sat down with a confused expression on his face.

"Mary Anne?" he asked. "I got the note you left in my locker. You wanted to talk to me?"

Mary Anne bit her lip and nervously looked at Logan. "Logan, I've gone back and forth a million times as to how to say this. We have been dating on and off for five years now. Some of the best memories I have are times that we were together."

Logan smiled at her and reached across to take her hand. Mary Anne quickly drew her hands into her lap. "What I'm trying to say is that when we broke up this last time, I knew in my heart it was for good. The thing is, call me selfish, but I can't stand not having you be a part of my life."

She took a deep breath as her trademark tears began rolling down her face.

"Aw, Mary Anne…" consoled Logan as he handed her a tissue. "You know I've never stopped carrying these around with me thanks to you."

Mary Anne sniffled and laughed. "It's our senior year. We have prom coming up, graduation, parties, and it'll be nice to have someone to email while I'm at college. I guess what I'm saying is that I want you back in my life, only this time as a friend. We've shared too much to throw it all away just because our feelings were changing."

Logan stood up and pulled Mary Anne to her feet.

"I think I'd like that." He whispered in her ear. "I'd miss not having you in my life. Even if it as as a friend. Let me tell you Mary Anne Spier, this Alex guy is one lucky guy."

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"Come on you guys!' whined Stacey as she absentmindedly braided her hair. "You guys never visit me at work!"

"Is it just me or does the thought of seeing scantily clad women slinging ribs and wings just not sound appealing?" muttered Abby.

"I don't know…" chimed in Cary. "It might be fun!"

"What a shocker!" laughed Kristy. "The guys want to go see half dressed women? Go frickin' figure!"

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Mary Anne as she and Logan came walking over to the table."

"Just how you all are going to come into Ribs-n-more and visit me Friday night!" Said Stacey laughing at the astonished faces of her friends.

"Sounds pretty fun actually. It'd be something new to do." Said Mary Anne shrugging her shoulders. She noticed Dawn and Pete sitting at the far end of the table. "Hey Dawn, Pete. Are you two in for Friday? Visiting Stacey at work?"

"Come on you guys…" pleaded Stacey. "We can make prom plans and after party plans. I'll even sneak you in a free order of onion rings. I'll reserve a table for…" She did a quick count in her head. _Let's see_, _Dawn Pete, Kristy, Cary, Abby, Ross, Austin, Mary Anne, Logan, Claudia, AJ, Price, Shannon._ "13? 13 is an unlucky number. I don't need anything bad to happen at work! Maybe Anna wants to come? I like 14 better than 13. "

"Good Lord Stacey, you are so superstitious." Groaned Claudia. "Bad luck at work? You work with Cokie! How can your luck get any worse!" She glanced around and saw everyone averting their eyes.

She saw Logan's face get red with embarrassment. "Logan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything bad by that. You just know Cokie has always hated us. I didn't mean anything by that."

Logan gave her a small, sad smile. "It's ok Claud, I know she hasn't been the greatest to you guys but she's really a decent person." He glanced sideways at Mary Anne. "Sometimes things just aren't meant to be then something comes around to fill a void."

Cary looked at Logan then at Mary Anne then at the rest of the table in disbelief. "What sort of psycho poetic bullshit was that? Are we on Dawson's Creek or something? Jesus, Bruno. On another note. How short are these shorts these hootchies wear?"

He quickly ducked laughing as the girls threw the contents of their lunch at him.

"Dawn?" asked Mary Anne as she walked to her stepsister. "Do you think you guys would like to go?"

Pete looked at Dawn questioningly. "It's up to you. I'm up for anything."

Dawn took a deep breath and looked around as her friends waited anxiously for her answer.

"You know what? I think that would be a lot of fun" She smiled as Mary Anne reached down to hug her as the bell rang.

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"Now remember Austin," said Stacey as she walked hand in hand with him on the way to class. "I'm not supposed to bring my boyfriend to work; I'm supposed to flirt with the customers. So please don't think I'm ignoring you.

She glanced at his face as it turned into a scowl. "I just don't see why you can't tell your boss that you have a boyfriend Stacey!"

"Please Austin, I need this job." She stopped and turned drawing him to her. "He would fire me if he knew. I just know it."

"Ok Stace, for you I'll do this. I don't agree with it. But I won't make a scene."

She whispered in his ear, "I'll make it up to you big time on Saturday night."

He grinned and pulled her into a lingering kiss. Neither of them noticing the girl waiting in the shadows by the locker.

_So Troy doesn't know his star waitress has a boyfriend? _Thought Cokie as her eyes narrowed. _Won't he be mad when he finds out…_


	25. Chapter 25

Authors note: Warning this chapter contains some offensive language and situations.

Also keep on reading as this story will finish in the next few chapters

"Hey Pete! Dawn! Over here!" yelled Abby as she stood in the crowded restaurant to wave her arms.

"Stevenson, could you sit down please? I think that waitress is about to bend over to pick up that fork and I don't want to miss that!" stated Cary with a grin. He looked over at Kristy's face turning red with anger and gave her a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. "I'm just playing. I've got the hottest girl sitting next to me!"

Kristy flushed as she self-consciously pulled up her tank top. She liked the attention she received when she dressed feminine and played up her features, however, she couldn't help feeling like she was playing dress up. _Why is it that Shannon can sit there in a pair of khaki capris and a black tank top and look like she came straight off the runway?_

Dawn clutched Pete's hand stumbling a little in her high heeled sandals. As they weaved through the tables, she noticed how many familiar faces frequented the restaurant. She sat down as Claudia squeezed her arm and said, "It's so good to see you! Your outfit is wild!"

Dawn grinned as she looked down at her outfit. She had an off the shoulder blue top on paired with a short patterned skirt. "Me?" she replied. "Normally that's your title Claudia! What gives?"

Just then AJ leaned across Claudia and said "Are you two girls whispering about clothes? I think you both look great!" Claudia squeezed his hand affectionately as she thought of some of her more wild outfits. Tonight she had chosen a simple red tank top with a pair of jeans. _It's better this way. I can't dress all wild and crazy forever. I may as well change that now._

Stacey grinned as her friends made faces at her from their table. She came over with a tray of sodas and began to take their order. She felt herself flush when Austin gave her a quick wink. She began to laugh as Dawn tried to find a non-animal item on the menu.

"Seriously Dawn, do you think you're going to find something healthy at a place called Ribs-n-More?" stated Logan laughing. Just then his face fell as Cokie came storming over to the table.

"Logan, what are you doing here with THAT?!"

Mary Anne sighed and retorted "Cokie, we're just all here having fun as friends, no need to come over and pee on Logan to mark your territory."

Cokie felt her face get red and opened her mouth to reply when Stacey drew her away.

"Look, go man your sections; you have way more tables so you'll be making a ton of tips. If you keep harassing my table, I'm going to tell Troy. Then you know you'll be in trouble for talking back to the head waitress." Cokie whirled around and began stomping away. She hissed under her breath. "Just you wait McGill…you'll get yours."

An hour later Stacey felt like she had been running a marathon. Most of her tables had cleared out leaving just her friends. She couldn't help noticing that every time she ran into the kitchen she saw Cokie talking to Troy. He looked rather angry the last time they made eye contact and told her he needed to talk with her. She said goodbye to her friends and agreed to meet them over at Kristy's for a bonfire after clean-up. She quickly ran to the back room where Troy was waiting.

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Outside in the parking lot, everyone was arguing over who would go grab food and who would go back to the house to get the fire started.

"I'd kind of like to wait for Stacey to get out." Mentioned Austin.

It was decided that Dawn & Pete would wait with Austin while the others grabbed food and started the campfire. The three of them climbed into Pete's car and began to sing along with the songs on the radio..

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Inside the restaurants as the music blared loudly, Cokie danced from table to table wiping them down and stacking chairs. As she turned on the vacuum she thought, _Troy was so pissed when I told him that Stacey brought her boyfriend here. His perfect head waitress is going to get fired!_

Stacey twisted her Porky Pig charm on her necklace nervously. She had never seen Troy so angry as when he slammed and looked his office door. He grabbed her shoulders and sat her down hard on his desk.

"What do you think you are doing bringing a guy in here Stacey?" he asked angrily. "I have one rule, and one rule only. No boyfriends in my restaurant!"

"Troy, I-I-I thought it'd be ok, I mean he was just here as my friend, I told him that I couldn't treat him any different that any other guy." Stacey stammered her reply nervously.

"You are a dirty whore." He hissed narrowing his eyes. All of a sudden Stacey didn't see an attractive older man, she saw an ugly face twisted by hate and revenge. She felt her blood run cold as he walked towards her menacingly. "You throw yourself at me, have me serve you underage, tease me just so I'll promote you then you parade a boyfriend in front of me?"

"NO! Troy! It wasn't that at all." Stacey cried. She began trying to back up as Troy continued to advance towards her. "I'm sorry about that one night, I was drunk and you were so nice but I never meant to lead you on. It's Austin that I like. He and I are trying to work things out. I'm sorry, I never meant to tease you." She began to cry in earnest as Troy began loosening his belt. "NO! Troy! What are you doing?"

"You are a slut and a tease just like my ex-wife and just like that other blonde who used to babysit for the kids. She used to come on to me all the time until I finally took what was owed to me. Now it's your turn you slutty bitch. I'm finally taking what is owed to me." He quickly grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. He covered her mouth with his other hand and said "You can scream all you want but I told Cokie if she vacuumed the whole restaurant, she'd be my new head waitress. She won't hear you until it's too late. So just be a good whore and take what's coming to you…"

Stacey squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head as tears rolled down her face. She bit her lip in fear as she felt his knee pry her two legs apart. _God, Please help me. Please! I beg you. I'm so scared. Let someone come and save me…_


	26. Chapter 26

"Seriously

"Seriously? Has anyone told you two how off-key you are when you sing?" giggled Dawn. "You are making my ears bleed!" She continued laughing as Austin leaned forward from the back seat and sang even louder.

"Hey!" called Austin suddenly as he stopped singing. "Did anyone remind them to pick up some food that Stacey can eat? I mean she can't do smores and stuff."

"I'm sure they would remember but if you want to hand me my purse I'll get my phone and give Kristy or Shannon a call." Said Dawn as she turned to peer in the backseat.

"Dude, your purse isn't here." Said Austin as he flipped on a light to check. He quickly felt the floor underneath both seats. "Nope, are you sure you brought it?"

"Damn!" swore Dawn. "Ok I'm going to run back inside and get it; hopefully they'll hear me knocking."

"Dawn, why not just wait until Stacey comes out? I'm sure she found it while cleaning." Suggested Pete as he flipped thru the radio stations.

Dawn wrinkled her nose as she weighed her options. "Nah, I'd rather I had it. I don't like the thought of Cokie going through my stuff." She quickly opened the door and stepped out. As she began walking quickly towards the darkened restaurant she heard her name being called.

"Dawn!" yelled Pete out of his window. "Want us to come with?"

Dawn turned and waved and blew Pete a kiss as she approached the door. She peered in but could only make out one person vacuuming in a corner. She began knocking loudly hoping Stacey or someone would hear her.

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_Oh Logan, you don't know it yet but you are going to ask me to prom!_ Thought Cokie as she danced across the floor with the vacuum. _I can see us being announced King and Queen and all those stupid babysitter's green with jealousy ._Suddenly she was _startled_ out of her fantasy by a loud banging. She glanced over her shoulder as she saw Dawn Schafer banging on the door. With a loud sigh, she left the vacuum turned on and jogged towards the door.

She quickly undid the locks and stuck her head out. "Duh! Can you read Dawn? We're closed…." Spat out Cokie. "Go home and sulk in your room for another 3 years." She began to shut the door and jumped when Dawn forced her way through.

"Cokie, shut up!" she replied. "I am just here to get my purse and I'll be gone. We're just waiting for Stacey anyway."

Dawn quickly walked towards the table where she had been sitting. Due to the dim lighting she didn't see the cord and tripped, thus shutting off the vacuum with an angry groan.

"Dammit Schafer! Now I have to go plug it in again." Whined Cokie.

Dawn quickly turned to give Cokie a piece of her mind when she heard a muffled cry.

"Cokie, where's Stacey?"

"She's in the back office hopefully getting fired." Gloated Cokie as she began walking towards the plug.

"Why would she get fired? She seems to know her job pretty well"

Cokie spun around quickly. "Because Troy doesn't want us bringing our boyfriends here that's why!"

She looked at dawn curiously. "Schafer? What's your deal? You're all pale and goth-like?"

Dawn grabbed Cokie's arm to steady herself. "T-t-t-troy who?" she whispered.

"What the hell is your deal? Troy Addison? Our boss?" She shook her arm free from Dawn's grip. "Get your purse and go!"

Dawn turned towards the back of the restaurant and wrapped her arms around herself to keep from shaking. "He's going to hurt her like he hurt me. Oh my God."

"What are you mumbling about? I swear to God, I don't know why people hired you guys to baby-sit, you all act like you're high all the time…" said Cokie as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Cokie, we've got to help her. He does awful things when he's mad." Dawn began shaking again as tears coursed down her face. "He can't ruin her life like he ruined mine!"

She turned and ran towards the back of the restaurant while Cokie stared after her in disbelief.

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"Troy, please no. Please don't do this." Pleaded Stacey as she wrestled on the desk with him as he tried to pull her shorts down. She could feel the stinging slap across her face where he had already hit her.

"I said shut your goddamn mouth!" roared Troy. He couldn't believe what a fight this one was putting up. He had succeeded in tearing off her shirt and bra but could not get her shorts undone. He raised his hand and smacked her cheek again laughing when she recoiled from the sting. He clenched his fist and put it up to her face. "You make one more sound and I will break your pretty little nose. Do you hear me?"

"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER AGAIN!" Screamed Dawn as she barged through the door.

Troy whipped around in surprise and Stacey screamed. "Dawn! Help me! Please help me!"

Dawn lunged at Troy catching him off balance with his pants around his ankles and succeeded in knocking him off the desk into a file cabinet. She quickly threw her arms around Stacey and began rocking back and forth. She heard Stacey scream and turned to see Troy looking at her with a face of pure hatred.

"Didn't I teach you a lesson already you stupid pathetic slut?" He spat pointing his finger at Dawn. Dawn quickly stood between him and Stacey.

"You will not touch her again Troy. You will have to kill me to do it." Said Dawn quietly.

"Shut up and save the dramatics. Let me finish what I started. I'm guessing it was so good the first time you came back for seconds eh Dawn?" He laughed menacingly.

Dawn raised herself to her full height. "I'm serious Troy, I have been walking around like I have been dead ever since you raped me when I was 15 years old. You ruined my life. I have come to realize that my friends love me in spite of me hating myself. It was all because of what you did to me. So go ahead and kill me. But you will never touch any of my friends and destroy them like you destroyed me. " She could hear Stacey sobbing behind her. "I'll kill you or you will kill me but you will not touch Stacey again."

Troy narrowed his eyes and glared at Dawn. He cocked his fist and aimed for Dawn's jaw. Dawn closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact. Stacey began screaming as she saw him advance closer. Suddenly there was a loud crash, and he fell over sideways, knocked out. The girls quickly looked at him lying on the ground, a small trickle of blood coming from the back of his head then glanced at where he once stood. They saw Cokie standing there with a broken beer bottle in her hand, her face ashen grey.


	27. Chapter 27

"Stacey? Sweetheart?" asked Mrs. McGill her blue eyes red and swollen from crying. "There are some police officers who want to ask you some questions honey. The doctor wants to give you a sedative to help you sleep tonight and the police need to get their information as quickly as possible."

Stacey looked up listlessly as her feet dangled off the side of her hospital bed. Her head was throbbing from the stitches they had put it from her head being slammed into the desk by Troy.

"Mom, couldn't they come back later. I don't feel well. I just want to go home."

Mrs. McGill hugged Stacey gently. "Honey, I can't imagine how hard this must be for you. You have an entire waiting room crammed full of people who love you and are worried about you." She picked up Stacey's hand and looked into her daughter's eyes. "The sooner you talk to the police the sooner they can lock up that bastard and throw away the key."

"Mom, did you call dad?" asked Stacey. "Is he in the waiting room too? Because you can send him in."

Mrs. McGill shook her head sadly. "Honey, I called him. I left a message on his cell, his home, his work and even Samantha's cell phone. He'll call soon."

"Whatever mom, if this was Anya, his "other" daughter he'd be there in a second. Send in the police, I just want to put this behind me."

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"I'm sorry you guys, I just got the message and got here as soon as I could." Said Anna breathlessly. "Please fill me in on what happened!"

Abby took a deep breath and rubbed at her red-rimmed eyes. "That bastard Troy Addison tried to rape Stacey. We don't know the whole story we were at Kristy's getting the bonfire ready…I guess Austin and- "

Austin stood up and began pacing. "Look, Dawn went in there to get her purse and she was taking forever so Pete and I decided to go see what was taking so long. We heard some yelling from the back of the restaurant then a crash. So we ran back there and saw Addison passed out cold, Cokie apparently knocked him out with a bottle." He paused while the whole group turned to look at Cokie curiously. Logan stood up and sat next to Cokie resting his hand on hers. "Stacey was lying there and-" He felt his voice crack and tears well up in his eyes. Pete walked up and put a hand on his shoulder.

Pete looked at the crowd before him and said "Stacey was lying there, bleeding pretty bad from her head and she, well, her clothes were all ripped up. Dawn was in front of her crying and that's how we found them. I called 911. The police & ambulances arrived and brought Stacey, me, Austin, Cokie, Dawn and Troy Addison to the hospital."

Kristy looked at Cokie incredulously. "You did that Cokie? You knocked him out and saved Stacey and Dawn?"

Cokie glanced around nervously. "I didn't know what to do; Dawn was acting all weird and mumbling so when she went running back there I followed a little bit later. Come on! Why is everyone staring at me?"

Claudia cleared her throat and said. "Cokie, that was really brave of you to do that. I think I speak for everyone when I say thank you…"

Cokie looked in amazement as the crowd began murmuring their thanks. She stiffened when she saw Mary Anne glance at Logan's hand holding hers. Mary Anne quickly walked over to the two of them and Cokie pulled her hand away from Logan's instantly.

Mary Anne bent down and gave Cokie a hug then straightened out and looked at the two of them sitting there. "You know what Cokie?" she began with a small smile. "I know for a fact that a certain guy here doesn't have a date for prom yet. I'm not sure if you already have a date, but I think Logan might like to go with you…"

Logan winked at Mary Anne and nodded a thank you. "What do you say Cokie? Will you go to prom with me?"

Cokie quickly nodded yes while the group clapped and whistled their approval.

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Dawn sat nervously on her chair in an empty room of the hospital. _Ok, Dawn, you can do this. It's time you told your story…_ She stood quickly and stuck her head out the door of her room where her mother was waiting. "Mom? I'd like to talk to the police officers please. There is something I need to say. I want…I want you and Mary Anne to be there too."

Sharon looked puzzled then nodded quickly as she went to bring Officer Harvey and Mary Anne to her daughter's room. She returned 5 minutes later, sat next to Dawn, and held her hand as they waited for her to speak.

Dawn licked her lips and cleared her throat nervously. She saw Mary Anne look questioningly at her and took a deep breath, breathing in her mom's subtle lavender shampoo. The scent calmed her as she began to speak.

"Officer Harvey. I'd like to make a statement about something that happened almost 4 years ago."

Officer Harvey grabbed her notebook and sat down across from Dawn. "Whenever you are ready Dawn."

"Troy Addison raped me when I was 15 years old." She began.

Mary Anne let out a cry, and began whispering repeatedly. "Oh God..No. Not Dawn. Oh God…"

Sharon beckoned Mary Anne to come sit by then and then closed her eyes and squeezed Dawn's hand encouragingly as she felt the tears roll down her face.

"I had been over at the Addison's almost every night helping Mr. Addison prepare the house for the arrival of Sean and Corrie. Do you remember Mom? I'd be there after school until like 10 o'clock at night?" She took a deep breath shuddering slightly. "The last night I was working we were having fun. Just laughing and teasing and I guess kind of flirting on some level. You know he would swat me with a towel when I walked by or whatever. I never really thought anything of it. Well, that last night, I started to leave and he asked if he could talk to me. So we sat on the couch and I guess he was drinking. At least, it smelled like it. He kept moving closer and closer and I stood up saying that I should get going…" She paused and began crying. "He…He…he wouldn't stop. I begged him to stop but he kept yelling at me that I had been asking for it. He threatened to kill me if I told anyone and that no one would believe a 15 year old slut like me. He then ripped my pants off and he… he raped me. When it was over I stood up to leave and he shoved me into the kitchen and raped me again. I was begging him to stop. Finally after the 3rd or 4th time, I was laying on the floor in the hallway crying and he kicked me and told me to get up. And that he'd drive me home. I quickly grabbed my clothes and hobbled home praying he wouldn't come after me."

Mary Anne slid off the chair onto the floor crying and rocking back and forth. "Dawn, I am so sorry this happened. Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped…"

"I couldn't tell anyone. I was too ashamed." Whimpered Dawn. "I had been over there an awful lot and maybe I did lead him on."

Officer Harvey knelt in front of Dawn and said gently. "Dawn, when a woman is forced to have sex against her will it is NEVER her fault. Don't you ever think that you did anything wrong. You are lucky to have such a strong and supportive family to help you through this. I can promise you that with this information and what Stacey is telling Officer Larkly should be enough to put him behind bars for a long time. We are getting Marguerite Mason's or sorry Cokie as you know her, statement too. We won't let him hurt anyone else Dawn"

Dawn nodded, feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted off of her shoulders. She was safe, she was alive, and he would never hurt another girl again.

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"-so then I guess Cokie hit him on the head and he passed out. I heard Pete and Austin come running in and I remember Austin picking me up and screaming to call an ambulance and I think that's where I passed out. I woke up here." Said Stacey slowly. Her head hurt immensely and she felt as if she couldn't cry anymore. Just then the door of her hospital room swung open and she lifted her hard sharply. She saw a man trying to shake loose from the grip that two security guards had on him.

"Sir, this is a protected room, you have to sign in at the front desk!"

"Where the hell is my daughter? I want to see Stacey!"

"Daddy?" called out Stacey weakly. "What are you doing here?"

Mr. McGill curtly nodded to the security guards as they retreated. He rushed to Stacey's side and gingerly kissed her forehead. "Honey, I came as soon as I got the messages. I knew buying the Porsche would benefit me. It got me here in half the time as a regular car."

Stacey laughed weakly and then let herself be comforted by her daddy.

"It's ok sweetie. Troy Addison will rue the day he hurt my little boontsie…" He patted her back sympathetically as Stacey finally gave into the much needed rest.


	28. Chapter 28

Three weeks later…

**Three weeks later….**

"Now ladies and gentlemen, if I can direct your attention to the center of the dance floor where our King and Queen will share in a spotlight dance…" announced the deejay.

The crowd began applauding and cheering loudly as the couple met in the middle of the dance floor and began swaying back and forth to the music. She glanced out and noticed her friends standing on the edge of the dance floor, their faces glowing with happiness as they watched in her twirl in her glory.

"Have you ever seen a more beautiful queen?" whispered Mary Anne to Alex as he leaned down to nuzzle her neck.

"She's pretty amazing that's for sure." Replied Alex resting his chin on her head. "Almost as amazing as you…"

"I don't know…" quipped Abby as she smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle in her wine colored prom dress. "I thought maybe Dawn and Pete had it in the bag or even Cokie!" She glared at Ross as he started laughing then quickly tried to cover it by coughing.

"No thank you" responded Dawn quickly. "I've had enough of being in the spotlight." She glanced at Cokie standing nearby with Logan. Cokie shook her head vehemently.

"I'm with Dawn. I have had more than enough people looking at me and asking me questions…" She shuddered slightly as she thought of the weeks following the incident at the restaurant. She was surprised to find herself becoming friendly with this group of girls, her former enemies. Quite honestly, the past few weeks hadn't been easy for any of them. Her supposed "best" friend Grace had been thrilled with all of the attention that she had received for friends with the "hero" of Stoneybrook High. She didn't understand the way that night had shaped all of their lives forever. It wasn't that she wanted to be a part of their little group; it was just nice to put the fighting and snide comments aside for a while. She hated to admit that she was actually going to miss the feeling of companionship and family she felt with these girls. _Oh my God, Am I actually going to miss these girls when we're all away at college next year? _Just then she caught sight of Claudia walking towards them wearing a dress made completely out of patterned silk. Cokie blinked a few times trying to absorb all the colors in the dress. Her eyes trailed and noticed how the dress had one long sleeve and one spaghetti strap. The skirt was much shorter on one side as well.

"Good God, Kishi, what in the hell is that contraption you are wearing?" she uttered horrified.

"Well, Cokie, somehow buying a dress off the rack just didn't seem special enough." Claudia snickered as she watched Cokie flush red with embarrassment. Claudia turned and winked at Shannon. "Shannon here along with the rest of my friends convinced me that dressing like everyone else just isn't who I am. I like dressing different. I'm proud of this dress. Mrs. Coupe thinks it's good enough to submit to some designers!"

Coke turned on her heel and walked away. _Well it's not like I was ever destined to be "best friends" with those girls…_Her mouth slowly curved into a smile as Logan grabbed her hand and led her to their table. Mary Anne called out after them. "Cokie! Wait, she was just teasing. Come on, it's our senior prom!"

AJ came up behind Claudia. "I'm not sure why you ever thought I even cared about what you wore. I fell hard for you Claudia, not your clothes. Besides, you look frickin' hot in that outfit." Claudia giggled and pushed him away teasingly. She was glad she listened to her friends and told AJ her fears of dressing too oddly for him. He admitted he always admired her for being so unique. She laughed as she watched Kristy self-consciously adjust her iridescent pink strapless dress. _Well at least Kristy was able to use my dress…_

"Well Thomas, who would have ever thought that all off our battles and fights and revenge plotting for 5 years would have finished with us at the Senior Prom together?" wondered Cary aloud. "Not only that but you actually took your hair out of a pony tail and put it in a do-up!"

Kristy narrowed her eyes at him and tried to keep a straight face. She broke into laughter and shouted, "It's called an up-do you ass! Not a do-up." She jumped in surprise as Cary began to tickle her. "Stop it, you're ruining their dance!" she pleaded.

Out on the dance floor Stacey looked up into Austin's warm, loving eyes. His arms were wrapped around her as if he would never let her go. He looked into her eyes, almost violet in color due to the deep purple of her dress. He felt as if his heart would burst if he didn't tell her how he felt.

"Stacey, I-I-I wanted-" She shook her head and said, "Me first? Please?" He nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Austin, I can't thank you enough for standing by me through everything. That experience was the worst thing I've ever experienced and you never left my side. I treated you so badly when I would break dates and such and yet you forgave me. You know what? I had such a crush on you in 7th grade when I met you, Claudia and I used to plot all these tactics to get you to notice me. I can't even believe that I am here, Queen at my Senior Prom dancing with not only the King, but my prince, and my knight in shining arbor. I love you Austin Bentley. I was too stupid not to say it last year and I know it's my fault that we wasted so much time that should have been spent together. But I do, I love you." She took a deep breath and looked up at him her eyes swimming with unshed tears. Austin cupped her chin and softly kissed her lips as the song ended. He pulled her close and whispered,

"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that. I have loved you Stacey McGill since that day you walked into my English class wearing that off the shoulder sweatshirt and glittery nailpolish.

They stood there giggling as the deejay started another song.

"Ladies and Gentleman," announced the deejay. "This is coming out to you by special request. Dawn, this song is dedicated to you from Pete."

The crowd moved out to the dance floor as _I'll Be_ by Edwin McCain flowed through the speakers.

Wordlessly Dawn let herself fall into Pete's arms as he held her close. The past few weeks had been among the most trying either of them had ever experienced. With everyone's encouragement, Dawn had begun a twice weekly therapy session trying to deal with the pain that had plagued her all these years. Pete had attended a few of the sessions with her and was able to realize how delicate her feelings were. The experience had given her a sense of freedom that she never would have experienced. She was able to renew a deeper relationship with not only her mom and Mary Anne but all of her friends. She thought of Pete and his gentleness throughout and her cheeks grew warm. She looked up into his hazel eyes and pulled him in for a kiss. "Back at Abby' & Anna's party, you quoted this song to me. You said you'd always be my crying shoulder. I appreciate you being there for me when I needed you the most."

"Dawn Schafer, I also said I'd be the greatest fan of your life…" he sang as he twirled her around as the music faded out.

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"Hey are you guys ready to go to the after party?" asked Shannon excitedly as they gathered around their table. "Price was going to check to see if Logan & Cokie were going to come too."

"I don't care who comes, I am just ready to party!" yelled Claudia.

"What's this I hear about a party?" asked AJ as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

The girls began giggling as their dates joined them.

"What is it about a group of girls that makes them giggle so damn much?" asked Ross as he scratched his head in disbelief. "If they aren't giggling, they are screaming when they see each other or blabbing about some private joke!"

"Oh shut up Ross" moaned Abby. "Don't even think you can analyze us."

"We got beer, liquor, chips, hot dogs, stuff for smores…." Said Price as he counted the items off on his fingers. "Are we set? Or do we need something else?"

"I know what we need!" said Kristy with a gleam in her eye as she looked at the girls smiling. "Pizza!!"

The girls began giggling as Ross shook his head in disgust. "I'm sure I don't want to ask…But I'll do it. Why pizza?"

"PIZZA TOAST!" screamed Kristy, Mary Anne, Stacey, Claudia, Abby, Dawn and Shannon.


	29. Chapter 29

She on the grassy knoll and wrapped her arms around her knees shivering a little. She could hear the music of the party behind her and people talking and laughing. Slowly she reached up to remove some of the bobby pins in her up-do. The last few weeks were only a glimpse of what was coming up in the next few months with the trial and preparations. Her father was doing all he could to shield her from the media in hopes that she could attend NYU as just another "normal" freshman. She heard a twig snap and looked up to see Dawn slowly sitting beside her.

"You kind of disappeared from the party. We were wondering where you went" said Dawn slowly.

Stacey sort of shrugged as she replied, "I just kind of needed to do some thinking you know? I mean come on even a Queen needs some time away." She grinned at Dawn as she picked up a handful of sand and let it sift through her fingers.

Soon Claudia, Mary Anne. Shannon, Abby and Kristy came to join them. The 7 girls sat there, each lost in their own thoughts for awhile. They were contemplating the changes that they faced, the challenges ahead, the new relationships that were beginning, and the appreciation of family and friends.

"It's going to be really weird not to see you guys all the time…" said Claudia starting to sniffle.

"Come on Claud, it won't be like that." Said Shannon positively. "We are all within weekend visits of each other, plus with emails and calls. It'll be the same as always."

"No," said Stacey. "It won't be like always, nothing is ever going to be the same" She stood slowly and looked off into the distance and the sky began to take on a purple cast.

"Well, we have to get older, you know?" explained Abby. "Move on, act like adults yadda yadda yadda."

"And getting older doesn't mean that we all won't remain as close as we are today!" Said Mary Anne.

"Not to brag or anything." Smirked Kristy as she stood up and linked her arm through Stacey's. "But we probably wouldn't be here today had it not been for MY great idea back at the end of 7th grade when-"

"Ooh look!" interrupted Dawn as she stood up to join them. "The sun is coming up."

The girls all quickly stood and clasping hands they watched the sun slowly rise as the sky changed from purple, to orange to red to yellow. They didn't know what the future held in store for them or how their lives would change. They did know, standing in that moment, that they would face it together.

"It's the beginning of a new day…" whispered Dawn squeezing the hands she was holding.

THE END

A/N Thank you everyone for all the reviews and advice and compliments. This was so fun to write! I thank you for lasting the full year it took me to complete it.


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